It's Dad Stuff
by twagirl
Summary: AUfic. Inuyasha is a single dad, with a lot going for him with the exception of romance. That is until he spots Ms.Kagome, his PA. But his boy Shippo might just have a problem with that. Updated Thursdays only!
1. Prologue

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi and welcome to It's Dad Stuff! I Hope that you like this story! I worked really hard to perfect it. This is the Prologue that will set the mood for the rest of the story. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim the characters of this story. Dis meaning don't and claim meaning own. I don't own them.

Oh yes! At the moment, Shippo is about 3 or 4, Inuyasha is around 24 and Kikyo is about 22.

Prologue- Why Shippo Chose Dad

A little boy jumped down from his position on the playground. He was pretending that he was a super warrior from planet Earth and his mission was to save the princess from the evil Martians. He thrust his sword into the alien and claimed his victory for the planet Earth.

"Look, look, I got it! I got it!" he shouted.

A tall man with silver hair turned and looked at his son and smiled. He was happy to have an outing with his family at the park for once. His business was just starting and he barely had enough time to spend with them. He looked over at his wife and kissed her temple. He received no reply but he knew that she felt the same.

The dark-haired woman looked into the fading sun, thinking. She listened while her son played with the imaginary aliens on the playground. She felt coldness setting in and shivered. It was as if there the weather was telling her that it was time. She wouldn't fight it.

The little boy ran over to his parents, smiling. When he reached his destination, he dug through the small picnic basket that they had brought along with them, and found a turkey leg. He happily munched on the oversized poultry. His mother looked at him.

"Shippo, go and play honey. Mommy and Daddy need to have a grown up talk."

Shippo didn't need to stick around any longer than that. He stood with his turkey leg and ran back to the playground. He knew what grown up talk meant. The last time he stuck around to see what was so great about grown up talk, he regretted it. It ended up with his daddy doing weird things to his mommy's face. It seemed like she dropped some food on her face and he was pretending to be a vacuum cleaner like the Oreck in the closet and sucking it all off. Except there wasn't any food on Mommy's face. It was just weird.

Shippo closed his eyes so that he would not have to see that again.

"Inuyasha, I want a divorce."

The man's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe what just came out of his wife's mouth. He turned to face her, for any sign of joking, but she was absolutely serious.

"Wh-What did you say?" he asked.

"I want a divorce."

"But Kikyo, why!"

For the first time she looked him in the eye. "Inuyasha, I want a new life."

She heard something in the bushes and sighed. Standing up, she looked down at Inuyasha's shocked and horrified face. "I already got the papers filed."

"That is bull." he whispered. Then he yelled it. "That is bull!"

"How is that bull? I'm not happy with you! You aren't giving me what I need!"

"I have given you everything that I could! I loved you and bought you everything that you ever asked! The only thing I ever asked from you was a son! Well now I have that! Why aren't you happy?"

"You just can't give me what I need."

"Kikyo you aren't making any sense! If you wanted a new start, just tell me and we'll move wherever you want to go! We'll do whatever you want to do, just tell me. Please." He was calming down a little now.

"What don't you get! I don't want to be with you anymore!"

"Why? Tell me why." he demanded.

"I told you, I want a ne-"

"Don't give me that crap!"

"I-"

"I want the truth. I want the truth now, Kikyo."

"I'm having an affair." she finally said.

Inuyasha froze for a minute. An affair? His Kikyo? How could she? Why? But they made wedding vows! How dare she break those vows and lay in the arms of another. How could she?

"How long?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's been years now. I can't even remember how long. But I do know this. He is the true father of my child, and I love him."

Inuyasha blinked at her in fury. Shippo wasn't his? He knew that Shippo didn't look anything like him, but he just thought that was because Shippo looked like Kikyo. And he thought that the sandy brown hair came from Kikyo's parents. How dare Kikyo lie to him and make him believe that Shippo was his son! Of course, Shippo was his son! He loved Shippo. But, Shippo wasn't his biological son? How did this all happen? Where did it all go wrong?

Shippo dropped his turkey leg in the sand. Mommy and Daddy were fighting? They had never fought before. Why were they fighting? Scared, he slowly crept up to his parents, but keeping his distance so that they wouldn't yell at him.

"I can't just sit around and let you tell me this! I don't believe it! I won't!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Well then I guess you'll have to deal with it. I am taking my son, and we are leaving you. I want to be with my love." she said.

"I don't believe this. You're going to be sorry, Kikyo. You're gonna come crawling back to me. He can't be your 'love'. You married me!"

"Yes I am. And I realized that I have made a big mistake in doing so."

Kikyo turned and looked at Shippo. "Come here, honey. There is someone that I want you to meet."

Shippo had a bad feeling about this. He didn't know what to do. Mommy was saying mean things to Daddy, and Daddy looked like he was going to cry, or kick her. But he didn't want to get into trouble. With one quick glance at his daddy, Shippo walked over to his mommy and let her pick him up in her arms.

"That's a good boy." she whispered in his ear.

Inuyasha watched silently as she rounded the bush that was behind them and started talking. There was a man there! Inuyasha ran over to see an older man who appeared to be about thirty years old. He had sandy brown hair like Shippo's, and his facial structure was almost identical. Inuyasha thought he was going to throw up. So it was all true.

"Shippo, this is your daddy. Your real daddy." Kikyo said softly. "I want you to be real nice to him because he loves you and we're going to live with him from now on."

Shippo looked at the man, and then he looked over at Inuyasha. That wasn't his daddy. Inuyasha was his daddy!

"But what about daddy?" he asked.

"That's not your daddy, Shippo. That's Inuyasha, he's your...pretend daddy. He was just pretending to be your daddy while your real daddy was on a long trip." Kikyo told him.

The brown haired man walked over and reached for Shippo. "That's right, son. I'm your father." he said.

Shippo flinched and shrugged away from his mother. "That's not my daddy! You're not my daddy! Get away! Get away!" He started to cry and Kikyo sighed. The man brought his hands back as if he were burned. He had a sad look in his eyes, and he looked to Kikyo for comfort.

"Don't worry, Suikotsu. He'll get use to you. Shippo come here and tell your daddy that you are sorry for being rude to him! Right now." she said sternly.

Shippo did not move and cried harder. "No! That's not my daddy. I want my daddy! I want my daddy!" he screamed.

Inuyasha jerked, and almost walked to his son. 'No,' he told himself, 'He's not mine. Not anymore.'

Shippo turned and saw Inuyasha there with a sorrowful look on his face. "Daddy!" he screamed. "Daddy he's not my daddy! Tell Mommy that's not my daddy! I want my daddy!" He fell forward and broke out into sobs.

Inuyasha watched Shippo fall, and he couldn't take it anymore. Forget about Kikyo. Forget about the man. He walked over to Shippo and picked him up. "Shh. Don't cry Shippo. Daddy's here." he mumbled.

Kikyo looked at him in fear. 'Oh no.' she thought.

Shippo looked up at Inuyasha and sniffled loudly, the clung onto him and sobbed some more. "Daddy, don't leave me ever again!" he yelled.

Inuyasha didn't say anything. He turned and looked at Kikyo, who had tears in her eyes. She knew that Inuyasha had won. She couldn't take this to court. Inuyasha had enough money to buy over the judge and still have his fortune left. She could never compete with that. Inuyasha's eyes were filled with anger, and she felt so little. She was helpless, and she didn't know what else she could do.

"Come on Suikotsu." she said, and the walked off together and left the park, never to be heard from again.

Shippo's crying had ceased after they left, and he sat there in his daddy's arms. "Is that mean man gone, Daddy?" he asked.

"Yes." Inuyasha said. He sat Shippo down and grabbed his hand as they watched the moon peak out from behind the clouds.

"Where did Mommy go?"

"She left us. She wants to be with that man."

Shippo looked down.

"Why?"

"I don't know, Shippo."

"Well, Mommy is mean! She should get no dessert!"

Inuyasha sighed.

"Mommy's not coming back, Shippo."

"W-What?"

"She's not coming back."

Shippo started crying again, and Inuyasha ruffled his hair to calm him down. "It's OK Shippo. It's OK. Everything will be alright." Shippo looked at Inuyasha in questioningly.

"It's just you and me now. We'll be alright. I promise."

Shippo nodded and hugged his daddy. 'Mommy is a mean, mean lady and I hate her.' he thought.

Well there's the Prologue! I hope that you liked it! I would like to think my best pal KatyaChekov for helping I with mine grammar and mine splelning! (hahaha joke on my part wink wink ) But seriously, it helped a lot because I probably would have never caught those mistakes regardless! THANKS!

Please Review!


	2. Chapter 1

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi. So what did you think of the prologue? Was it good? Did you like it? I hope so! I worked really really hard on it! Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I wasn't really expecting that many reviews since I hadn't had a story up in some time, excluding It's Cliche. I mean, it was less than 20 reviews I think, but that's a great start, seeing how 6 reviews each chapter would be 36 reviews after 6 chapters! And I got around 10 or 11 in the prologue only! (And there will probably be 15 or more chapters!) So thanks for the feedback, it means a lot to me. Plus, I enjoy reading on what you all are getting from the story and the plot and stuff. And I would like to thank my pal for proofreading it for me, it helped a lot! Well I won't keep you waiting for much longer! Here's the first chapter I guess!

Chapter 1- A Meeting, That's all

"That was a pretty good movie." Inuyasha said. His son sighed next to him.

"The action was cool. But they focused too much on the stupid love story." Shippo said.

"You're only ten. You'll understand when you get older."

"I understand now. It's still stupid."

Inuyasha sighed as he walked his son out of the theater. He didn't really feel like arguing today. It was his day off, and he had been working hard for two weeks straight, due to a big foul up in the media center of his business. Of course, he only stuck around that long because he wanted to. His new secretary seemed to be handling it without him. He remembered it all to clearly.

'You can go home, sir.' she had said

'And leave us in ruins? I think not.' he replied.

Then she said nothing more and went back to work. He observed her closely, and found out that he really could have gone home because the only thing he served to do was get in her way, asking

questions and whatnot while she fixed the whole problem. He was amazed.

"Inuyasha?" came a voice behind him.

Inuyasha turned and met the face of Jojo. She looked gorgeous today, with her blonde hair flowing out around her shoulders.

"Hey Jo! How've you been?" he asked politely. He noticed her blushing and she looked at him with admiration in her eyes.

"I've been alright. It's not the same without you though." she giggled and touched his shoulder.

Inuyasha smirked. "May I remind you that it was you who wanted to be 'just friends' in the first place?"

Jojo nodded and a look of sincere regret passed over her face. Inuyasha was confused at this, seeing as she had been so eager to be 'out of his clutches' as she had put it.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

All of a sudden, Shippo came up beside him and looked at Jojo, smiling. Something in Jojo's face changed, and she looked behind her nervously.

"Actually you know what, Inuyasha? I think my movie is about to start. I have to go. Bye!" and with that, she ran off quickly, disappearing in the movie theater without a trace.

"Well that was rude." Shippo commented.

Inuyasha looked down at his son. 'Why does this keep happening?' he asked himself.

"So where are we headed next, Dad?"

"Um, I'm taking you home. We had fun today but I really want to check out this new club that opened up last weekend."

Shippo jumped back. "What? Why!"

"You know why."

Shippo shook his head. "You can't possibly be serious. You can't be! Why would you wanna go looking for dates! In a club!"

"Well it's not working anywhere else..."

"Then give up! You don't need any dates!" Shippo yelled.

'Not this again.' Inuyasha thought.

"Look. If I don't settle down soon, you're never going to have a mother, and it'll just be you, me, and Kaede for the rest of forever."

"I don't want another mother! Obviously, you don't remember what happened to my _last_ one!"

"Shippo stop yelling. You need a mother. You know it. Kaede won't be you nanny forever. You're already passed her age limit. If I didn't have the extra money, she'd be gone as well."

Shippo stomped his foot. "Well forget her! Forget everyone! It's supposed to be just you and me, Dad! You and me!" after that, he didn't listen to another word his father had to say and ran off.

Inuyasha sighed heavily. This was the usual argument. He knew that he sounded a little cruel to his son, but in all honesty, Shippo _did_ need a mother. Inuyasha knew that his love alone couldn't amount to the love of a mother. That's why he was doing his best to find one. But so far Shippo hated all of the women he dated. It seemed like nothing he did was right anymore.

Thoroughly frustrated, Inuyasha turned the corner and started following Shippo's path home. They didn't live too far away. Besides, in a big city like this, who needed cars anyway?

"Mr. Taisho!"

He couldn't believe how rude Shippo was getting these days. But then again, he was ten. Teenage years weren't that far away.

"Mr. Taisho! Please hold on, sir!"

And Shippo and always been a bit old for his age. Well, always meaning after the divorce.

"MR. TAISHO!"

Inuyasha stopped, turning around curiously at who was calling him. Squinting, he saw a dark haired woman running down the street towards him.

'She's fast.' he thought.

She reached him in a matter of seconds, breathing a little heavily, but only as to be expected. It was Kagome, his personal assistant and secretary. She caught her breath quickly before speaking.

"Wow, I've been looking all over for you, sir. You're actually pretty hard to find." he chuckled at her honesty. "Anyway, I apologize for interrupting your day off, I know how important it must be to you...son" She looked around, not seeing anyone with him. But then returned to the matter at hand.

"It's just that when you left yesterday, you forgot to sign the important papers stating that we could merge with the Zito company so long as they agree to stop treasoning our company's name. I would have just waited until Monday, but they due tomorrow morning, and they need a signature or else there's no point in returning them."

At this point, Kagome yanked a large manilla folder out of messenger bag, and tugged a bunch of papers out of it, handing them over to Inuyasha.

"Please sign on pages four, seven, ten, and thirteen." she stated while handing him a pen.

Inuyasha hesitated for a moment, knowing that he hadn't read the document over completely, but he signed anyway. It appeared obvious that Kagome had done that for him, and professionally, he trusted her. So he signed away and handed them back to her along with the pen.

"Thank you, sir." she said with a big smile on her face.

It was then that Inuyasha noticed she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Of course, ever meaning since his first marriage. He always had to compare women to Kikyo. Most of them never came close. But something about Kagome reminded him so much of her. But she was different. Something was different about her, and he wanted to find out what it was.

He had never noticed such beauty before. Of course, he never really had the chance to, with her being his secretary _and_ personal assistant. She was always off on errands for him, and we he did see her, she always had her face down, reading something to him.

'How did I miss this?' he asked himself.

Kagome had then set everything back into her messenger bag and bid him farewell, before turning to leave. She didn't get very far, seeing as Inuyasha caught hold of her wrist before she could really walk off. She didn't even flinch or anything.

"Yes sir? Did I forget something?" she asked.

Inuyasha almost couldn't get it out with her looking at him like that. He hadn't felt nervous to ask anyone out in years. He couldn't believe it. So he played it safe.

"Well there's a meeting in two days that I am supposed to attend for the company... I was hoping that you would come along. You know, to take notes." he said

Kagome immediately nodded and pulled out her palm pilot in a flash, typing things in.

"Where and when, sir?" she asked.

As Inuyasha told her the where and when, he felt kind of guilty. She actually thought there was going to be a meeting. 'Oh well.' he thought. 'Better make the best of it.'

"And please dress formally." he said.

"Of course sir." she said. "Anything else?"

Inuyasha thought about it and looked down at her. She really was pretty. Even though she looked a bit tired from working and her hair was tied in a taught bun on her head.

"Wear your hair down." he told her.

Kagome then for the first time caught his eye, shocked at his sudden comment. She hesitated before nodding and turning back to leave. She left like she was in a hurry, running back up the street the same way she had run down.

Inuyasha grinned and made his way home.

Shippo did not meet him at the door as Inuyasha had expected it. He was probably still sulking in his bedroom. He went upstairs and turned the corner to prove his point and he was right. He briefly knocked on the door to let him know he was entering and made his way in.

"Still mad?" he asked.

Shippo said nothing to him, and continued to write in a notebook that was open on his desk.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Again, Shippo said nothing.

"Please understand, son, that I'm doing this for you. I know what it's like to have a wonderful mother, and I'm trying to do me best so that you can experience that. I won't make a mistake like your real mother again, I promise."

Shippo scoffed. "Whatever."

"Ah, he finally speaks. Anyway, you'll see what good I'm doing for you when you get older. You just have to trust me. Now, I just got a date for Tuesday night, so I want you to stay home with Kaede, okay?"

Shippo felt his blood boiling as he turned and looked at his father.

"Fine, Dad." he said. Inuyasha missed the hostility in his voice.

"Good. Kaede's done with dinner. Wash up and come down." and with that, Inuyasha left and went down to the dining room.

Shippo threw his notebook at the wall, frustrated. It made a small thump before clattering to the floor.

It had been at least a month before his dad started talking about dating again. Shippo just couldn't see why he had to. Shippo thought things were fine the way they were.

He reached under his bed and retrieved a yellow box. It was pretty heavy, but Shippo didn't care. It had been about a month or two since he had to use it. He wasn't very pleased to use it anyway.

"Here we go again." Shippo muttered to himself and opened the box.

* * *

So, any questions? I tried my best to make this as interesting as possible. But hey, it's the first chapter so it has to be interesting or else the story's gonna flop anyways, right? I think I did ok. Review please and tell me what you're thinking or ask any questions that you may have, alright?

The next chapter should be out next week if I get it typed up and everything. So please be patient. I'm trying to work up a schedule for the summer where I can update my stories once a week since I probably have nothing better to do with my time. And if you get bored in between the waits, you can scroll on over to one of my other stories, which I am also working on. And currently I have two other stories I am working on. One is the sequel to 'And into his lap'. And the other, well you'll just have to wait and see that, eh? I promise you'll like it though!

So I'll be waiting to read any reviews you may have for me and I'll try to update next week!

Thanks and bye bye!


	3. Chapter 2

**REI'S CORNER**: Thanks to all of you who reviewed once again! You have no idea how much it helps! Just thought I would tell you that I'm doing my best to get all of these chapters up, and a little warning! I'm going to be traveling soon, so I probably won't be able to update for about 3 weeks to a month! I'm sorry. I don't really wanna go all that much but I have to because of family stuff. So don't hate me! I will most definitely be writing on the road, so take reassurance that even though I won't be able to update, I WILL be planning and writing so that I can write the best version out! Understand? Lol. Just have faith in me as an author, ok?

SORRY ABOUT UPDATING 2 DAYS LATE BUT THE DOCUMENT THINGY KEPT READING ERROR WHEN I TRIED TO UPLOAD!

DISCLAIMER: Dunno if I've done this yet, so I'm doing it now. I do not own Inuyasha and a portion of the characters, so don't hate on me because I wrote the plot, eh? If you have a problem with my fic, go to sleep.

Chapter 2- I don't Recommend

Kagome felt uncomfortable as she entered the fancy restaurant. She had only dined in such restaurants a few times, and she didn't like it. There were always high-class, stuck up people around who just made the atmosphere around her feel negative. She didn't want to be there. But it _was_ her job. So it must be done. She only hoped that she could read the menu.

Inuyasha caught sight of Kagome as she entered the restaurant. She was gorgeous in her smooth black dress. It came down passed her knees, of course, and it was modest in the fact that the neckline was exceptionally high, but her dark hair fanned out over her shoulders. Inuyasha began to feel many emotions. Some that he hadn't felt since he had last seen Kikyo.

She gave him a smile and a proper business nod, and a pang of guilt shot through Inuyasha's body. She truly believed that they were here on business. She was so beautiful.

He stood as she approached the table and he pulled out her chair for her. She thanked him and took her seat.

When the waiter arrived, he took their orders and left shortly to retrieve their drinks. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two.

'Where is everyone?' Kagome thought.

'What should I talk to her about?' Inuyasha thought.

It wasn't too long before the waiter came back with their drinks, and shortly after, the food. Inuyasha was trying his hardest to make the whole thing seem natural, but he was failing miserably. Kagome wasn't really talking to him. He tried to make small talk, but she seemed to be in another world.

"So, um, what made you decide to pick up secretary work?" Inuyasha asked. He noticed that she looked him in the eye when she started to answer. It was about time.

"Well, I just like to work. I guess being a secretary gives me a good opportunity to do the kinds of work that interests me." she said.

'Suck up answer...' they both thought at the same time.

"Well, don't you have any personal hobbies that your job might get in the way of?"

"No, not really."

"No kids? No younger siblings to look after?"

"No. I do have a younger brother, but he lives with my mother."

"I see. So what exactly do you do for fun?"

Kagome began to fiddle with her napkin. 'What's going on? Why is he asking about me?'

"How about a boyfriend?"

Kagome's eyes shot up to his, and her hand dropped the napkin.

"E-excuse me? Shouldn't the others be getting here soon?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"What others...?"

Right after he said it, he knew that he was in for it. Kagome's face turns red as she stands, grabbing her purse, and retreats from the table, heading for the door.

'Shit...' "Kagome! Wait a minute!" he yells as he stands to chase her down. He didn't get very far, as the waiter stops him at the door, asking him about the bill. Inuyasha quickly hands the man a hundred dollar bill before running out of the door.

He looked around for her, and spotted her retreating figure half way up the street.

"Kagome, stop!" he yelled as he ran after her. But she didn't stop. It took him a while catching up to her, seeing as he hadn't run in over a good ten years.

When he did catch up to her, her face was very red, and he got nervous, wondering if it was anger, or something else.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a boyfriend. I just thought maybe..."

Kagome stopped walking. "I do not have a boyfriend, sir."

'Oh. I knew it.' he thought. 'Smile later.'

"Then why did you leave?" he asked.

"Sir, I am not about to go on a date with my boss. First things first, it's unprofessional."

Inuyasha felt really guilty about now.

"I just really think that you a beautiful and intelligent woman. I was thinking that maybe you would enjoy my company for an evening." he said.

Kagome scoffed. "Listen sir, as we are doing this now, you could be enjoying a wonderful afternoon with your own family. You do have a son, whom by the way you have acted I'm guessing you don't spend enough time with anyway, who is probably begging for attention. I do not recommend you keep this up. But then again, it is only my opinion. Goodbye sir, see you bright and early."

Without another word, she turned, and continued her walk, pulling her hair into a bun as she walked.

Inuyasha was confused as he stood there. He figured she wasn't interested. But why wouldn't she like him? He wasn't bad looking, and he was wealthy. He had a job. Was it because he had a son?

'She never said she wasn't interested.' said a voice from the back of his mind.

After standing there for a moment, he recollected himself and went home. When he got there, Shippo was in the living room, playing video games on the television.

"You're back early." he growled out. Inuyasha sighed.

"I know. It didn't go as well as I thought it would."

'Good.' Shippo thought.

As Shippo continued to play video games, Inuyasha watched him. 'What is Kagome talking about? He isn't begging for attention. For the most part, Shippo ignores me unless we're out somewhere.'

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Shippo asked.

"No reason." Inuyasha said. "Say, how about we go out somewhere? I've got time. Anywhere you like."

Shippo paused his video game and looked at his father, shocked.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Shippo turned his game off and Inuyasha went upstairs to change before they got in the car and went for a drive around the city. Something that they had never done before.

"Gotcha!" Shippo yelled as he shot his laser gun at his dad.

The red lights went off and the two exited the dark room with large smiles on their faces. They were having lots of fun. They had already gone bowling, and now they were at the arcade, playing video games and getting ready to eat pizza.

"So, how's school going?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's alright. All my grades are pretty good. Except for science though."

"Why? What's wrong wrong science?"

Shippo shrugged. "I dunno. I just think it's boring."

"You're wrong. Science is pretty cool. What are you learning right now?"

"Rocks and astronomy."

"That's cool. We should go star gazing. It's actually more fun than looking at it in a textbook."

"But we can't see the stars here in the city, dad."

Inuyasha thought for a minute. He really did enjoy the time he was spending with his son. He began to understand Kagome's theory just a little more. Well, the spending time part, not the begging for attention part. He was sure Shippo was not doing that. That he was sure about.

"I guess we can go over to Canterbury to go camping sometime. I haven't been camping since I was a kid. How 'bout it?"

Inuyasha wanted to thank Kagome the minute he saw Shippo's eyes light up. He hadn't seen that expression in Shippo in years. Years.

'Thanks, Kagome.' he thought to himself.

* * *

Ok sorry, I know it's short. But it _does_ set up some very important points. Like you get in a little on Kagome's life and all. So there you have it. I shall update for the last time in a while on Thursday. Take care all! 


	4. Chapter 3

**REI'S CORNER: **Hi! Lovely reviews my friends from the last chapter! SO Sorry about the wait for this chapter! Once again, problems with the uploading server caused me to not be able to update on time and I had to leave the very next day! I apologize for such a disruption right when we're getting the story rolling along. I couldn't avoid it! Sorry. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, I enjoyed them thoroughly. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 3- Thanks to You

Inuyasha strolled into the office at an even pace, whistling a soft tune. He felt at peace with himself. He decided to not be so formal in the office all day, and he was currently clad in an old pair of jeans.

He noticed that Kagome was already at her desk, having arrived much earlier than he, and she was typing documents up on her computer. Instead of passing by her desk as he usually did, he stopped, and leaned over, curious as to what she was typing.

Kagome stopped typing. "Can I help you, sir?"

Inuyasha grinned and straightened up. "No, just wondering what you were typing is all."

Kagome sighed and began typing again. With her eyes on the screen she told him that the documents were statements from other employees that were having complaints in their departments. Inuyasha felt a twang of annoyance shoot at the back of his ear, but he didn't show it.

'He's still standing there.' Kagome thought.

"That's good...I guess..." Inuyasha said.

"Is there anything else, sir?"

It was silent for a moment, before Inuyasha swung her computer chair around. She gasped as she was suddenly face to face with the man she called 'boss' and the man who just recently hit on her. He lowered himself down to a knee so that he was looking her in the eye, and she felt a familiar blush creep at the back of her neck.

"Kagome, thanks for the advice...I had a fun weekend with my son...and I'm sorry about tricking you. I was wrong." he said.

Inuyasha studied her features as a sudden relief crossed her face and she nodded, then turned her chair back around. She went back to her task without saying another word to him. Inuyasha had a feeling that there was no more to that conversation, so he stood and walked into his own office.

It was now five thirty in the evening, and the work day was coming to an end. Inuyasha retrieved his keys from the key hook by the door and exited his personal office.

The day was very uneventful. Inuyasha only took a few phone calls and set up meetings for the following week. Other than that, he thought about Kagome.

Could it be that she was only upset with him because he wasn't honest in the first place? Maybe if he had asked her plain and simple, she would have accepted. 'No that's not it. She has a problem with the fact that I'm her boss.' he thought to himself.

During her lunch break, Kagome actually went to the lunch room with the other employees. He was surprised to see her there, since usually she would work through her lunch break. She appeared to be distracted by the palm pilot in her hand however, and he never had the chance to talk to her because she only took about five minutes to eat, and then she was right back up heading to work again.

Inuyasha spotted her by the elevator, obviously waiting so that she could go down to the lobby to leave for the day. He watched as she pressed at the button eagerly and slouched against the wall when the elevator didn't come any faster. Inuyasha chuckled as she began to make dirty faces at the door in her frustration. It was the first time he felt that she was in a way human.

"You know, that elevator has a mind of its own. It only works when it wants to. That's why I prefer the stairs." Inuyasha told her.

Kagome's face turned red as she felt his presence behind her. 'Great, just make a fool out of yourself, Kagome.'

"Maybe you'd like to join me?" Inuyasha asked her.

Kagome didn't even try to answer. She nodded, and followed him to the stairs with her face down in embarrassment.

As they started down the stairs, the sound of elevator doors opening echoed through the halls of the empty office.

When they reached the lobby, Inuyasha suddenly felt a nagging in his head. Kagome had settled for idle small talk on the way down, avoiding anything serious or business-related.

The nagging was getting on his nerves. He wanted to get rid of it.

"So, do you have a car?" he asked.

"No I prefer to walk and it saves money." she said.

Nagging.

"I guess I will see you Wednesday, sir." she told him.

Nagging.

"Um, sir?"

Nagging!

'Ok...' Kagome thought as she turned and began to walk away.

'Alright!' Inuyasha screamed in his head.

"Hey, Kagome!"

She stopped and turned back with question on her face.

"You wouldn't mind...I mean..would you...What I'm trying to say is...Will you go out with me?" he stuttered out.

'Not again..' Kagome thought.

"I know I don't really deserve the chance, but just one date! One. Then if you don't want anything to do with me I'll back off. I promise..."

Kagome started to say no when she felt the nagging. Something was telling her not to say no this time. She sighed before nodding hesitantly.

"But under one condition." she told him, "you have to bring your son along."

A look of pure shock hit Inuyasha's face. He hadn't expected that, but he nodded and they agreed to meet at the park the next day after Inuyasha got off from work.

Inuyasha smiles as he leaves toward the parking lot to get his car.

Kagome frowns as she walks the opposite way. 'Oh boy, what did I get myself into?'

Later that evening, Kagome found herself packing a bag full of some goodies and fun things to enjoy at the park.

She figured that if she had to go on a date with her boss and his son, she at least had to make it fun. She sighed. She didn't even know why she was doing this. She had vowed to never get involved like that, and here she was, going out with her boss!

–THIS IS A FLASHBACK–

"Actually Kagome, I decided that we aren't right together. You happen to be just a little too free and laid back for me."

"W-what? What are you saying?"

"When are you going to grow up? You can't expect that we are going work. I mean we're complete opposites."

"But opposites attract..."

"Kagome, you have no job, you live in some dinky old apartment, and your mother pays your rent! You are twenty-two years old! When are you going to act like it?"

"I have a job..."

"What you do at the library is not a job! Open your pretty eyes and grow up for once! You aren't going to get anywhere at the rate you're going...and I don't want you to drag me down with you..."

"Wait! What are you-"

"Goodbye, Kagome. Good luck."

"Please don't go! I'll grow up...I...please!"

–THAT WAS A FLASHBACK–

Kagome finished packing the bag for tomorrow. 'I sure hope I know what I'm doing...'

* * *

Shippo came to the conclusion that he wouldn't do anything drastic the next day. A simple verbal warning was all he really needed. That was usually all that it took to make the chick disappear.

Who did she think she was anyway? Waltzing in and ordering his dad around. Shippo never had to go on any of his dad's dates before, excluding the very few little dinners that there was. What made her so special that he had to come along?

And who goes to the park, anyways? What kind of lame woman was this?

'I'll teach her.' Shippo thought.

The door opened and Shippo kicked his yellow box under his bed. He turned and looked at his dad.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Just came to say goodnight, can't an old man say night to his son anymore?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippo rolled his eyes. "Night, dad."

"Night." Inuyasha said and returned to his own room.

'I hope Shippo likes Kagome.' he thought as he went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 4

**REI'S CORNER:** HELLO! I would like to once again, thank everyone for the numerous reviews, I am very pleased that you all like this story! And (promotional ad) if you all are looking for another good story to read, you can head on over to my newest story, _You're My Princess, Kagome._ It's really good, I promise! I'm not just saying that because I wrote it . . . well maybe I am . . . But anyway, the truth is I'm slightly disappointed that not a lot of people tried it out and that's depressing . . . but then again, it WAS the first chapter so maybe I'm overreacting. But seriously, if you're bored, please try it out! Thanks! With that said, lets get a move on with this story!

DISCLAIMER: Don't sue me. I disclaim the characters!

Chapter 4- And so the games begin . . .

Inuyasha turned off the car and removed the keys from the ignition. He briefly did a mirror check before opening the door. He looked at Shippo in the passenger seat.

"Remember, best behavior. Kagome is a very nice woman, and she's different from all the other ones . . . so . . . yeah."

Shippo rolled his eyes as he opened his door. He couldn't believe that he was actually going through with this.

As he was about to get out of the car, Shippo quickly spotted his father's leather wallet hanging out of his back pocket. A mischievous look crossed his face and he leaned over and tipped the wallet out of its place in Inuyasha's pocket.

Inuyasha felt something poke him and he turned and looked at Shippo, who had his finger pointed in the direction of his behind.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippo looked down briefly then looked up and hopped out of the car, shifting Inuyasha's attention away from his wallet, that lay on the car seat, alone.

"Uh, you had something on your pants." he said slowly.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at him, the shrugged his shoulders and shut the door.

* * *

Kagome waved at them from her spot on one of the park benches. She stood and met them half way, a large smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, sir. And you must be Shippo." she held out her hand. "How do you do? I'm Kagome."

Shippo looked at her hand as if it were diseased.

"I do just fine." he mumbled.

Kagome giggled nervously and put her hand down, glancing at Inuyasha for a little help, but it was no use. Inuyasha was too busy undressing her with his eyes. Kagome felt her cheeks burn.

"S-sir?" she questioned.

Shippo elbowed his dad in the side and Inuyasha jumped.

"I-Inuyasha . . . call me Inuyasha. Wow what a nice day it is. We should get something to eat or something." he stammered.

"Are you...okay?" Kagome asked.

"Of course I am. Are you?"

Kagome shrugged and walked back toward the bench. 'Why . . . why did I say yes!'

Shippo scrunched up his face. "Dad, I want a soda."

Inuyasha went to pull out his wallet, but it wasn't there. Shippo smirked as he called over to Kagome to tell her that he'd be right back with his wallet. He waited until his dad's retreating figure was far enough, and then he walked over and stood by Kagome, fixing her up with a glare.

"So, you're twelve, right?" Kagome asked.

Shippo only glared at her. Kagome laughed nervously, then pulled a yo-yo out of her pocket.

"Look, lady, I'm on to you." Shippo growled out. Kagome's eyes widened at this and she stood still.

"I know what you're after, and my dad might seem like he likes you, but you'll never get it."

Kagome thought for a minute, then asked "What exactly am I after?"

"His money. His sex. All that 'grown up' stuff. But I'm telling you, you'll never get it."

Kagome's eyebrows flew up when he said the word 'sex' and out of habit a fit of laughter rush out of her before she could stop it.

Shippo furrowed his eyebrows and grumbled.

"What's so funny?"

They both turned and looked at Inuyasha, shocked that he made it back so quickly. Kagome stopped laughing.

"Shippo just told me some funny joke that he learned from school." Kagome nudged his shoulder and smiled. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

"Well I've got my wallet, how about we buy us some sodas or hot dogs or something?"

"Actually, I packed some snacks and juice if that's okay . . . "

"I want a soda!" Shippo said.

The other two stopped and looked at the boy.

"Kagome just said she has juice." Inuyasha warned.

"I want soda."

"Oh don't worry about it, sir, I'll go get it." Kagome said, dashing off toward the vending machines.

"Shippo, don't start showing off." Inuyasha said.

Shippo crossed his arms. "I aint showin' off, dad. I told her before you came back that I wanted a soda."

When Kagome came back with the soda, the three opened up a blanket and had a picnic on the park grass. Throughout the entire meal, Kagome felt uneasy due to Inuyasha's intense staring, and Shippo's death glares. She was the first one to finish eating.

She opened her yellow bag and pulled out a frisbee and looked at Shippo. "Wanna play with me?"

'Play? What's her problem?' Shippo wondered, then he suddenly grinned. "Sure . . . I'll . . . play."

* * *

For the hundredth time, Kagome's face met the grass as she ducked from the lethal frisbee.

"Oops. Too hard again?" Shippo asked 'innocently'.

Kagome stood and brushed herself off. She turned and saw Inuyasha laughing, and she felt an inhuman growl at the back of her throat. 'I see where this kid is coming from, but come on!'

"How about we play something else . . . "

* * *

Kagome's face met the concrete floor.

"Oops. Sorry Kagome. I wasn't looking where I was going." Shippo said.

Inuyasha helped Kagome up off of the basketball court's floor, and asked her if she was okay.

"Fine." she mumbled.

"Shippo! Take it easy would ya! She's supposed to be on your team!"

"Okay, dad! Hey Kagome catch!"

Kagome just had time to turn before she registered the feeling of hard, fully blown up, basketball sink into her gut.

* * *

"What are we playing next?" Shippo asked.

Kagome looked at him from her spot on the bench. 'Is this kid for real?' she wondered.

"Um . . . I'm a little out of energy . . . ice cream to refuel?" she looked at Inuyasha.

"Good idea. Hold on, I'll go get it." Inuyasha said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and walking over to the line at the ice cream vender.

An uncomfortable silence washed over Shippo and Kagome. Kagome looked around for some way to break the ice. Her eyes landed on a playground and she jumped up, pulling Shippo with her.

Shippo tried to pull out of her grasp, but she had a vice grip on his wrist. He struggled against her, "Let go!"

Kagome let go when they reached the playground.

"I haven't been near one of these in a while!" she smiled and sat down on a swing. "C'mon, swing with me!" she insisted.

Shippo shook his head.

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Shippo's glare hardened on her. "I'm too old for that, and so are you."

Kagome snorted and waved him off. "Hogwash. You're never too old for the swings! C'mon!"

"No!" he yelled.

Kagome's motions stopped. She sensed something had gone terribly wrong in a matter of seconds.

"What is it, Shippo?" she asked. Shippo's face reddened in anger.

"That was the same swing I was sitting on when my parents split." he admitted.

Kagome looked at his angry face and stood up. "I'm sorry, Shippo, I didn't kn-"

"It's none of your business." he cut her off.

Kagome was about to continue the conversation when Shippo ran back over to the bench where Inuyasha was waiting with their ice cream cones. Kagome sighed and walked back over to them.

Inuyasha smiled as Shippo devoured the ice cream. "Having fun?"

Kagome looked at Shippo, who was, once again, glaring at her. When their eyes met, he looked away quickly.

Kagome forced a smile and nodded vigorously. "I'm glad I came today."

Shippo's eyes widened. How dare she? She brought up unnecessary things from the past, and pretended like she cared, and now she was acting like nothing happened! Shippo felt his face flush in anger again. 'I hate this lady. Who does she think she is?' his mind screamed.

As the older pair's conversation continued on, Shippo felt himself getting more angry. For once, he agreed with his dad. This Kagome _was _different from all the others. She was a scheming evil witch. She was a big liar and he knew that he had underestimated her. He needed to go back home and change all of his plans! This woman was smarter than those other women! He had to think fast!

"Um . . . " he interrupted.

Kagome looked at Shippo, concerned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Um . . . "

'Think, Shippo. Think!'

Shippo spotted a rock on the ground and grabbed it up, quickly. "Kagome, look at this rock, we learned about them at school!" he said, then started running toward her. He was going to 'show her the rock'.

Kagome should've seen it coming from a mile away. She knew something was up with him when he started saying 'um'. But she just had to play into it.

As Shippo ran toward her, he 'tripped' on something, and down he went, an ice cream cone in one hand, a rock in the other.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and he heard his son collide with Kagome.

The rock hit the ground on impact, but as fate would have it, the ice cream hit Kagome.

It hit her hard and the cone broke, releasing the stick, sweet almost-liquid all down her shirt.

It was at that moment that Inuyasha wondered just why in the hell had he asked for so many scoops?

And it seems that it would've ended in that moment, with the cold ice cream running down Kagome's shirt. But no.

The ice cream cone in Kagome's hand slipped, and her own ice cream found its way down Shippo's back and all over his clothes. It was a giant mess, the two, and as Inuyasha opened his eyes, he knew that today's date had come to an end. A brutal, unbelievable end. He closed his eyes again at his hurt pride.

Shippo's eyes widened as the slick, cold ice cream ran down his back. Oh this one was definitely smarter than the others. 'At least now I know your game'

Kagome looked down at the shocked boy in her eyes and felt a giggle jump out. Then again. Before she knew it, she had started laughing, asking Shippo if he was okay. Shippo and Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy, and that made her laugh even more.

'I haven't laughed like this in years.' she thought.

After a little while, Inuyasha chuckled himself a bit, and helped Shippo stand upright.

Kagome was still laughing. She wouldn't stop.

'There's something about that kid.' she thought.

When she settled down, Inuyasha spoke. "I guess we'd better call it a day, huh?"

Kagome smiled and nodded. She went to go pack up all of the things that they used. As Inuyasha helped her, she thought back to the events of the day, and smiled even more. She actually had fun.

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

"Please don't go, I'll grow up, I promise!"

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

Kagome's smile faded a bit. She zipped her back pack up and turned to Inuyasha.

"Thanks." she said.

"Any time." he smiled.

Kagome felt something in the pit of her stomach flip, and she blushed. She looked over at Shippo. He appeared to be lost in thought.

Inuyasha called him over, and that's where they said goodbye.

Inuyasha wondered if they would ever do anything like that again.

As Kagome walked the opposite way, toward the bus stop, Inuyasha smiled. He looked back at Shippo, who was headed for the car.

'I think this could work.' he thought.

But he didn't know just how wrong he was.

Yet he didn't know just how right he was.

* * *

I had SOOOO much fun writing this chapter! Hope it was up to all of your standards, and yes, I know it does seem a little rushed but i plan on going back and revising it.

Hope you liked it!


	6. Chapter 5

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi again! So glad to be hearing from all of you, I was so surprised when I got that many reviews. I already have like 80 something reviews, and im only on the 5th chapter! At this rate, this story might be more popular than Database Drama was! And I would like to answer a few Frequently Asked Questions for you all just to shine some light a little. (Ron: and to waste time). BTW! Sorry for updating so late! I had an emergency doctor's appointment over at the hospital and it ran over late!

**1. What is in the yellow box?**

Lol, I wasn't expecting so many of you to wonder what's in the box. It's no big secret, I'm afraid. No, Shippo hasn't got the dead bodies of Inuyasha's ex-girlfriends in there. (Ron: Gross) Actually it was more of an after thought thing. It's just a big yellow box with Shippo's 'plans of destruction' in it. HOWEVER, the box _might_ just have a bigger part in the story than I'm letting on. wink

**2. Who was the guy in the flashback?**

All I can say right now is that he was an ex-boyfriend of Kagome's that dumped her. Sorry. It'll unfold.

**A NOTE ON LAST CHAPTER:** Just to let you all know, Kagome wasn't trying to get even with Shippo when she dropped her ice cream on him! Sorry if I confused you. Her ice cream spill was a _real_ accident. Unlike Shippo, she_ didn't _mean to do it.

ANY MORE QUESTIONS? REVIEW AND I'LL ANSWER

Other than that, lets get this show on the road!

DISCLAIMER: haha. I don't own it. I'm laughing at my own self-pity.

Chapter 5- Double take

Inuyasha strolled into the office, late as usual, and took to leaning against Kagome's desk. He watched her as she typed, a slight blush over her cheeks.

"Um . . . yes sir?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha smiled at her, which made her more unnerved, and she squirmed in her computer chair.

"Why don't you just call me Inuyasha?" he asked while still smiling. Kagome stopped typing and looked him in the eye. Inuyasha stared back, showing his male ego . . . his confidence.

Kagome ignored his question.

"You missed three calls this morning. Two were from the Lander company, requesting a reschedule on the monthly meeting. The other was from some woman named Cynthia." she told him with a bored tone of voice.

Inuyasha nodded slowly, watching her reaction. He was slightly disappointed when her expression remained unmoved. Cynthia was his attorney, but Kagome didn't have to know that.

"Oh yeah, sorry about your shirt from yesterday. I'll buy you a new one if you'd like." he told her.

As he spoke this, two younger-looking women walked by and giggled. Kagome's face flushed with embarrassment.

"No. It's fine. Ice cream _does_ wash out in the machine, you know. And it was an accident."

Inuyasha nodded, letting it go. Kagome gave him a little smile, then turned back toward her computer screen.

"Hey Kagome?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to go out with me for dinner tonight? Shippo's going to some school function, so I'm free for most of the night . . . "

When he finally looked back at her, she was shaking her head.

"Sorry. I can't."

"Oh. Ok." he pushed against her desk and began to trek to his office. But he didn't even turn the knob before he was back leaning against her desk.

"Why not? If you don't mind me asking."

"Previous engagement." she said without looking up.

"Oh." he said. "Like what?" he asked.

'Gee what a child . . . ' Kagome finished the word she was typing and looked at him.

"I have another job." she told him.

"Oh." Inuyasha said, smiling a little. He returned to his office.

'I didn't know she had another job.' Inuyasha thought, slightly shocked at her confession. He'd assumed that being his PA and secretary was enough of a load for her. Yet she had another job? He wondered what it was that she did on the side. 'On the side?' he wondered. What if she had a more important job to do? What if **this **job was her side job? He peered out at her through the crack in the door. She was working diligently, talking on the phone, typing with one hand, and writing something on a post-it note with the other. Inuyasha wondered how she got it all done.

As soon as he looked away from the door, his phone intercom beeped. He pushed the little red button. "Yes?"

"There's a Ms. Cynthia on line two." Kagome's voice came through the phone.

"Alright. Thanks Kagome."

He switched over to line two and picked up the receiver.

"Hey Cynthia."

* * *

At lunch time Inuyasha ordered take out for him and Kagome. He figured he'd surprise her with a nice lunch. 

She was, once again, working through her lunch break, and Inuyasha hadn't seen any sign of her stopping anytime soon. He decided to leave her alone until the food came, though.

He opted to go through the papers on his desk. He couldn't just watch Kagome all day, could he?

He read through the documents, signing them when he needed to. He made a mental note to have Kagome type up a letter to an opposing company for him later.

After forty-five minutes, the intercom beeped again, and instead of going to push the button, Inuyasha put his pen down and walked out to Kagome's desk. She was still holding the phone to her ear, looking up at the delivery boy.

"Hi." Inuyasha greeted the delivery boy. Kagome put the phone down and went back to her typing.

The delivery boy told Inuyasha the total and handed over the food. When Inuyasha paid him, he thanked him and left.

"Come have lunch with me." he told Kagome.

"I'm working."

"Don't worry about that. I'm your boss, remember? I'm giving you a break and I'm telling you to eat. So come eat."

"But sir–"

"Just come on. And stop calling me sir."

Kagome sighed and followed him to the staff lounge room. She hadn't expected him to buy so much! She never really even ate lunch at work, unless she skipped breakfast. She always ate when she got home at night.

They ate in silence for the most part. Inuyasha noticed how Kagome avoided the little container of spinach, and he chuckled when a disgusted look crossed her face as he ate it.

"So . . . how come you have another job? Mortgage that high?"

Inuyasha didn't even know why he asked. It just sort of slipped out. 'Well I thought I paid her well . . . why would she need another job?' his mind reasoned.

Kagome shook her head. "I like working. Not only does it pay, but I can take my mind off of other things."

"Oh. That makes sense. Do you work tomorrow?"

Kagome saw where he was going with this.

"Wow, you sure seem to have a lot of time lately. Don't you think it would be better to spend that time with your son? I mean he is a great kid from what I saw . . . Don't you want to be around? You know, to watch him grow?"

Inuyasha felt annoyance tug at the back of his mind.

"Just go to dinner with me tomorrow night. Shippo can find something to do in that time. Yes, he is my son. But I'm not going to smother him."

Kagome shook her head at him.

Frustrated, they both began to pick up the mess that they made. Inuyasha didn't say anything else to Kagome. When they finished, he returned to his office and sulked.

Kagome sighed as she sat back down at her desk.

* * *

Inuyasha was signing something that had come in the mail earlier that day when he saw Kagome again. She poked her head through the doorway and told him that she'd finished her day's work, and was leaving for the day. Inuyasha nodded and she disappeared down the hallway. 

Just as Kagome started down the stairs, curiosity struck Inuyasha. He wondered where she was headed, and what she did for her other job. The curiosity getting the better of him, and maybe a little bit of stupidity too, and he decided to get up and follow her.

Since Kagome walked, and Inuyasha drove, he had to follow her and see what way she was going, before getting in his car and driving back that way to follow her. He tried his hardest to keep a good following distance so that she wouldn't suspect anything.

It took a good hour or so to reach the destination, and since Inuyasha was going about five miles an hour, to stay behind, it seemed way longer. He was annoyed with her for getting a job so far away. Hey, it was his fault for following, but he wouldn't admit that. It was her fault for having another job.

He arrived behind her at a small diner, near the road. It was dimly lit, and semi-packed with travelers and business men who hadn't made it home yet. Inuyasha parked and went up to the window, watching for Kagome.

When she appeared again, she was wearing a shorter skirt, and an apron, signifying that she was waitressing. That annoyed Inuyasha even further. Why did she have to work such a crummy job when she had him as an employer? He felt his own cheeks burn in slight anger as she walked by a table of men who were giving her inappropriate looks.

When Kagome took their orders and began to walk away, all of the men at the table began to make obscene gestures at her behind. That did it for Inuyasha, and he stormed into the diner and took a seat in a booth near the door. And waited. It seemed that Kagome was the only one working in this part of the diner. All of the other waitresses were on other ends of the room. So he was in good luck.

A woman from behind the counter called out to Kagome, stating that there was a new customer. Inuyasha assumed that the lady was talking about him. Kagome began to walk over slowly, distracted by something else in her hand. So she didn't even see him until it was too late.

When Kagome caught sight of Inuyasha, first she blushed. Then she looked away, trying to find some sort of escape, but finding none, she placed a menu in front of him and averted her eyes to the notebook in her hand.

"The uh special today is--"

"Cut the crap."

Kagome tried not to look up.

"What are you doi--"

"Kagome you can't be serious! The skirt, the men, this . . . this place! The skirt . . . Kagome!"

Kagome blushed as everyone in the diner turned and looked at the screaming man. Kagome's boss, Lindy, scurried over to the table.

"Is there a problem here?" Lindy asked.

Kagome's face went darker red and she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her.

"Hell yeah there's a problem!" Inuyasha yelled, drawing even more attention to himself.

"Mr. Taisho, please calm down." Kagome muttered through her clenched teeth.

"Kagome quits! She doesn't need to be in the raggedy-ass, flea infested, pervert harboring . . . "

As Inuyasha went on and on, Lindy gave Kagome a death glare, literally saying 'how dare you bring this here?' with her eyes. Kagome thought she was going to die.

"Well, sir, I have had quite enough! If you do not like this facility, you should leave! And if you do not, I will be forced to call the authorities!" Lindy yelled.

Kagome sighed, glad that this was coming to an end.

"Kagome!"

"Y-yes ma'am."

"If you cannot control your guests then I believe that you should leave also! I will not have you bringing such horrible people into my diner! Do not come back!"

"But ma'am I--"

"NOW!"

Kagome rushed to the back of the diner and grabbed her belongings. She was at the moment too shocked and too afraid to feel anger. She'd never seen Lindy so angry before. Of course, Kagome didn't blame her for being angry, but still . . .

Inuyasha was waiting for her when she exited the diner for the last time.

"Kagome--"

"Don't talk to me, please."

"Let me drive you home."

"I'm not going home."

"Well let me drive you wherever you're going. Please."

"Haven't you done enough?"

Inuyasha looked at her in the eye. He was still angry, but he'd calmed some. He felt a little guilty, but he was happy that she wasn't going to be working there anymore.

"Look, I'm sorry, but you can't work there!"

"Obviously. You just got me fired."

Inuyasha shut up, knowing that he couldn't win. Yes, he was the bad guy. Might as well live up to it.

"Would you just get in the damn car!"

Maybe not.

Kagome began to walk away. In truth, she wasn't that angry about getting fired. It was one less thing that she had to do. She was annoyed that it had to go that way.

Inuyasha caught her wrist and spun her around.

"Where are you going? Just tell me."

Kagome sighed.

"I have another job. Since I don't have to finish this shift, might as well get an early start there."

Inuyasha looked baffled. "You're joking. Right?"

Kagome shook her head.

"What's this one?"

"Maid."

Inuyasha's fist shook with anger. "You're not going."

"What is your problem? You think just because you're my boss you can run my life? Wrong! I only work for you in the office, Mr. Taisho! That's all!" Kagome yelled.

"Well no PA of mine is going to be working as anyone's damn maid! You expect me to pay you when you're burnt out from all the work you've done!"

Inuyasha knew he was only telling the half-truth. So what if he was worried about her health. So what if he cared about her as a person. So what?

"Just . . . mind your business." Kagome said.

"I am! You're my employee and--"

"Do you ever wonder about your son like this! Right now, you could be spending time with him and you're yelling at me about my own problems!"

"Don't change the subject, Kagome! Shippo's got nothing to do with this! Grow up!"

Kagome's eyes widened.

– ANOTHER FLASHBACK–

"Grow up!"

–THAT WAS A FLASHBACK–

Kagome was so shocked at his statement, she abruptly yanked out of his grasp and turned to walk away.

"Kagome, wait!"

Kagome walked faster, but she couldn't outrun Inuyasha Taisho. He caught her about halfway to the street.

"Kagome stop. I'm sorry. Lets . . . lets go get some coffee or something. Please?"

Kagome sighed.

* * *

The waitress put a steaming cup of hot chocolate in front of Kagome. Inuyasha looked at her strangely as he poured cream into his coffee. 

"I don't like coffee." she stated. Inuyasha nodded without question.

It stayed silent for a long time. They were both trying to figure out what to say to the other, unsure of how the other was feeling at the moment.

Inuyasha broke the silence. "I'm sorry." he said.

Kagome nodded. "I forgive you. I'm sorry for bringing Shippo into this."

"No I'm kind of happy you did. It helped me realize something."

"What?"

"I really like you. Now before you say anything, I knew I liked you before but now I'm really sure that I like you. You're smart, you like to challenge yourself, and you don't have a problem with my kid. You're the first woman to actually encourage me to spend more time with him."

Kagome looked down at her cup, not sure how to react.

"Kagome."

She looked up. "Huh?"

"What I'm trying to tell you is that I want to have a relationship with you. We can take it slow. And Shippo will be a big part of it. I promise." Inuyasha said, grabbing her hand in his.

Kagome looked into his eyes and saw sincerity; something she hadn't seen in another person in a long, long time. She didn't know what she was doing, but she felt herself nodding.

"Slow." she repeated. "And Shippo included."

Inuyasha grinned and nodded.

"But you're my boss!"

Inuyasha laughed and sipped at his coffee.

* * *

WOW that was really long! I apologize for all grammatical and spelling errors. But you all know how it is. Typing for a long time, trying to make it not sound dumb. Lol. No excuse, I know. I'll go back and fix it later, I promise! 

Anyways, thanks again for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 6

**REI'S CORNER**: Hi everyone! I am soo excited to be writing for you today! I was bugging out when I got all of your reviews! I loved the feedback! Thanks! I even did a jump and dance motion thing when it hit 100 reviews! This is only the 6th chapter, and I'm starting out with 106 reviews! Do you all know how excited that makes me! YaY!

And for any of you all that read You're My Princess, Kagome, know that it should be updated by Saturday! I am permanently moving the updating date from Wednesday, to Saturday for two main purposes. And they are:

(A) School is getting ready to start up soon, and I'm going to be needing some extra time for homework and study.

(B) The update days were too close together. I didn't think about it at the time when I had certain chapters already typed up, but now that I have to type up the chapters again, I need some days in between so that I can check them properly for errors.

SORRY ABOUT THE SHORT NOTICE!

ALSO NOTE! That as the school year begins to start up, my updates may become a little delayed, and It's Dad Stuff, may be moved from Thursday to every other Sunday.

I'm am truly sorry, and I know some of you may hate me for it, but I regret to inform you, that in my house, schoolwork comes first. Everything else can wait. Even breathing.

Now on a much lighter note I believe that two of you have some very good questions, and I will take the time to answer them here:

**siks.forever-** About Mir/San or other couples, You know, I ususally plan out the whole story around Inu/Kag and I forget about all the others until I come across a place where I say, "Hey, I think that I can fit a Mir/San pairing here, or a Sess/someone else there." So I haven't put much thought to other couples yet. But do not fret my friend! I do know for sure that there WILL be a Sess/someone else pairing later on in the story, because there is a certain erm cough twist cough that is VERY important for the plot! Oh gee I hope I didn't put too much out there...well I answered the question...hee!

**silverkonekotsukari-** Sadly, I never did see Jersey Girl. They use to show it on tv a lot, but I always skipped over it; never got around to it. My real inspiration for this story came from my adoration for kids! One day, I want to be a good mommy and a teacher and a children's book author! So I think about all the kids that I've ever come across in the past, such as family members, classmates, friends, etc. Also, when I started, I thought a lot about the movie Au Pair, (Which I do not own, nor do I claim ownership) that they use to show on tv a lot, but aside from the lack of a mother, a relationship between an employer and an employee, and troublesome kids, the two plots really have nothing really to do with each other. The plot I came up with is something that I thought up on my own, with inspiration from what I thought it might be like to live in the big city.

Those were really good questions! If there are any more, feel free to ask, and I'll answer them as best as I can!

So now I guess I can get down to what you've all been waiting for. Most of you probably skipped down to here anyway. (Teasing) Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. None of the characters. Not mine.

Chapter 6- Outwitted by a Wit

Kagome placed the bowl of oatmeal next to the others in the case. In just a few minutes, the workers would come rushing into the cafeteria, looking for an early breakfast to start the day with.

She looked around the cafeteria. It was mainly empty with the exception of the other cafeteria workers and a few early birds. She went back into the little office and started to clock out.

"Hey Kagome."

Kagome turned and saw her friend Max behind her. She moved out of the way to let him clock in.

"You done for the day?" he asked

"Yeah. Well for the night anyway." she replied. Max chuckled.

Kagome usually came to the cafeteria around eleven at night to serve the late-night workers, and stayed until breakfast hours. Max's shifts changed a lot.

Kagome said goodbye to Max, then gathered her jacket and left the little cafeteria building. She walked briskly to the bus stop, and sat on the bench.

As she waited for her bus to come, she thought about the past few days.

Inuyasha and her decided to stay professional during the day, so that there wouldn't be complications from the other people in the office. They hadn't really talked much since Kagome agreed to his relationship proposal, but Kagome knew that things had changed.

Inuyasha talked about Shippo constantly. Way much more than he use to. When he didn't have any meetings, or phone calls, he would bring his chair out to her desk, and they'd go over papers together. To any other person who walked by, they would see two people working diligently, but they knew otherwise.

It was the little things that made Kagome know that they were, in such a way, together; brushing shoulders gently when they walked by each other, catching each others eyes in a conversation, gentle smiles, the usual. Kagome thought it was nice that they were taking it slow, and subtly. And she was glad that he constantly informed her of Shippo.

-THIS IS A FLASH BACK-

"What is it, Shippo?" she asked. Shippo's face reddened in anger.

"That was the same swing I was sitting on when my parents split." he admitted.

Kagome looked at his angry face and stood up. "I'm sorry, Shippo, I didn't kn-"

"It's none of your business." he cut her off.

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

Kagome frowned. It was a shame that he had to watch something like that at such a young age. Kagome didn't pity him, of course, she knew that was the last thing he needed. What he needed, was a friend.

She understood why he was so hostile towards women. Who wouldn't be? She didn't know the whole situation, but he was growing up without a mother! Whatever the case was, the woman wasn't around for him, and he had to be taking it out on just about every woman he'd ever met. That would suck. What if he'd had a little sister?

"He just needs a friend, that's all. He doesn't want a new mother. And I won't try to be. If Inuyasha can't see that, then I'll break up with him." Kagome said to herself as her bus pulled up.

When she found a seat, she looked at her watch. It was 10:15. She had a few hours to spare.

What to do?

* * *

Inuyasha opened the front door, surprised to see a smiling Kagome on the other side.

"Hey!" he said.

"Morning."

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No. I had some free time and I thought I'd come make you breakfast...I mean if you hadn't already ate."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Kaede took the day off to visit her daughter in the country, so he and Shippo would have to cook for themselves. What a coincidence that Kagome would show up, right after they woke up, offering to do the service for him.

Inuyasha smiled and stood back to let Kagome in. Shippo was still up in his room getting dressed. Inuyasha called Shippo to hurry up while Kagome went straight to work, pulling out all the things she needed.

'That's creepy,' Inuyasha thought, 'how does she know where everything is? She's never even been in here before...'

Shippo came running down the stairs, a grin on his face.

"So what are we having for break...fast?"

As soon as he caught sight off Kagome in the kitchen, the smile dropped off his face so fast Inuyasha questioned if it was ever there.

'What's she doing here!' Shippo thought.

"Kagome came to make breakfast. Be good." Inuyasha warned and went to sit down and talk with her.

Shippo growled and followed his father. He hadn't heard from that lady since the day of the park. He thought, even though she proved to be a challenge to him, she'd decided to give up while she was ahead and never show her face again.

That would be just like her, to wait for a few days and then show up to mess everything up again. Clever.

When Kagome finished, they all sat down to eat. Kagome took a seat next to Shippo, while Inuyasha sat on the other side. He noticed this, but didn't say anything.

As they ate in a semi-comfortable silence, Shippo threw dirty looks at Kagome from where he sat. Kagome pretended that she didn't see them, which annoyed him further. Inuyasha watched his plate, thinking of something to say wile this went on.

Shippo childishly stuck his tongue out at Kagome, who in return stuck hers back out at him, playfulness in her eyes. Shippo narrowed his eyes, then Kagome copied, trying to keep the 'game' going.

Shippo looked over at his dad, who seemed to be in his own little world, then smirked.

"These eggs are soggy and there's too much pepper on them. Gross." he stated.

Inuyasha heard him, and was about to get on him for it, but Kagome talked first.

"Yeah, I was kind of in a rush. I didn't know if you liked pepper or not. I don't. I didn't put any in mine. Here, I'll share mine with you."

As Kagome began to pile some of her own eggs onto Shippo's plate, Inuyasha felt a smile bubble out of him. 'She looks like she could be a mom from this angle.' he thought.

When she finished eating, she hopped up and said, "Well I'd better head out, work to do." she said.

Inuyasha glowered at her and he bit out, "Just how many jobs do you have, Kagome?"

Kagome noticed this, and purposefully annoyed him further by grinning and replying, "Just enough to keep me busy."

Inuyasha scowled at her, and she laughed. Shippo looked at her like she was crazy.

"Well, I need to get going. I don't want to be late."

"Bye." Shippo said quickly, as if he were shooing her away.

Inuyasha had a stubborn look on his face, and he was mumbling something about her having too many jobs, but told her bye anyway.

"You guys have a good day." she said as she walked out of the front door.

Inuyasha and Shippo sat at the table for many minutes after.

"What are we doing today?" Inuyasha asked.

"I don't want to do anything." Shippo told him.

"Good. Neither do I."

Inuyasha went up to his room with a nearly permanent scowl on his face, and Shippo went to go to his room. As he passed the front door to get to the stairs, he spotted the frisbee that they used at the park the other day on the little table by the telephone.

He saw that Kagome had drawn on it in permanent marker, 'Have a nice day!' with a smiley face under it and he glared at it. He stomped up the stairs, leaving the frisbee there, and shut himself in his room.

"Have a nice day." Kagome had told them both.

They sulked until the sun went down.


	8. Chapter 7

**REI'S CORNER:** Hiya! I'm sad...the summer is coming to an end, and I have to go back to school TT. But I am happy because I got many, many reviews last chapter! Here's hoping that this one rakes in some too!

So sorry to say, that this chapter will be a pretty short one. It's one of those, rising action kinda things! But you shall like it!

DISCLAIMER: you know the deal. I do not own Inuyasha characters.

Chapter 7- Just Us for Once!

Inuyasha smiled at Kagome awkwardly from across the table.

It was a Friday night, and Inuyasha had invited Kagome along for dinner with him. When she showed up at the house, Inuyasha was waiting for her outside, and he drove them to a restaurant. Kagome was a bit confused at his secretive actions, he said nothing about Shippo the whole way here, and they were constantly making small talk with one another, as if they'd just met.

Kagome thought he was up to something. Maybe he was deciding that dating wasn't exactly the best thing to be doing right now. Maybe he was going to break it off. She knew that would be for the best. But she didn't know why that thought made her stomach hurt.

"So...how come Shippo didn't make it?" she asked lightly.

Inuyasha sighed. He knew that this question was going to come up sooner or later. That's why he stood in front of his mirror for an entire hour that morning, reciting the words, 'Kagome, I want to be alone with you. Shippo is at home tonight so that I can have you all to myself.'

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

"So where are you going?" Shippo asked from behind him. Inuyasha jumped.

"Do **not** do that!" Inuyasha breathed out. "Just dinner."

"Oh. Do I have to come?"

"No. Don't take this the wrong way or anything, son, but I think I should have a date with Kagome...alone for once."

Shippo made a gag face behind his back.

"Of course, father, I understand completely." Shippo mocked his fatherly tone.

"Good."

Shippo ran out of the room, half-laughing and half-gagging at the same time.

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"About Shippo?"

"Ah! Yeah."

'I just wanted alone time with you, Kagome. Just say it!'

"Erm, he went to a friends house for the night." 'Damn!'

Kagome blinked at him.

"You know how boys are." he said, trying to convince her that he wasn't totally lying.

Kagome slowly nodded.

"Yeah." she smiled.

After that, it got extremely quiet. Inuyasha and Kagome ate their meals quickly. Kagome was actually comfortable with the silence; Inuyasha thought it was punishment for lying.

As the minutes ticked away, Kagome finished eating and started playing with her napkin. She wasn't sure what to talk about. Inuyasha stared at her.

"What?" Kagome asked.

"I..." Inuyasha looked away, not knowing what to say.

Inuyasha asked for the check as the waitress walked by. The silence was killing him. He knew he shouldn't have lied; it just sort of blurted out. 'Why the hell am I so nervous about this whole thing? What's wrong with me!' he thought.

"Kagome!" he started.

Kagome looked at him in question, and he stopped what he was going to say.

"I..."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.

"You...?"

"Eh."

"Um sometime today please?" she said.

"I lied about Shippo!" he yelled.

Several people in the restaurant turned and looked at the pair. Kagome blushed at the sudden attention. It took all but five minutes for the other people to go back to their own conversations. Inuyasha put money on the table and they pretty much ran out.

"Kagome...I just wanted to be a lone with you." he finally said.

'That wasn't so bad.' he thought.

'Why's that?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha's eyes widened at her question, hoping that she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"I know I agreed to the whole Shippo thing and our dating, Kagome, but does he really need to be with us every minute?"

Kagome looked shocked. "Well, yeah! What do you mean? He's your son!"

"I know he's my son!"

"You don't act like it!"

"Don't you get that I want to be with you!"

"Don't you get that you should care about your son?"

Inuyasha scowled at her. He understood where she was coming from, but say he wasn't caring about his own son? That was taking it a little far!

"Your son is at an age where he begins to mold into who he's going to be! You have to be around. I mean what if he runs into the wrong crowd, or if he's influenced by only what he knows? A mother who walked out on him, and a father who's constantly too busy with work, or women to be with him! Now is the time to bond!"

"We do bond!"

"Obviously not enough!"

"What are you getting at!"

Kagome sighed. Might as well.

"Your son is begging for attention, Inuyasha."

"What?"

"See? You don't even know! Don't you ever wonder why the women you're dating suddenly up and leave? Or why you can't seem to hang on to a girlfriend for more than two weeks?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything back. He was thinking about how she would know so much about that. 'She is my personal assistant. We're always around each other...'

"I'm telling you this, Inuyasha, because I know from experience. He isn't ready for you to just start bringing women into his life..."

"N-no! That's not it. I just haven't found the right one!" Inuyasha argued stubbornly.

"You don't know Shippo that well. I'm his father! I know that when I find the one he likes, all of that will stop. He's not a bad kid."

Kagome thought otherwise.

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK, KAGOME'S FLASHBACK! DON'T GET IT MIXED UP!-

"Ah!"

"Oops. Sorry." Kagome said innocently.

"Oh, I am so sorry. Please, let me help you."

Kagome got a dirty look from her mother as the man tried to climb out of the park fountain.

"No. I can do it. I am sorry, but your daughter is a demon!"

Kagome looked shocked, but she was laughing inside.

"How dare you say that about my daughter!"

"Do you know what she's been doing to me!"

"Now you wait just a minute!"

"Forget this! I feel like the only adult here! Stay away from me! You and that monster child!"

-THAT WAS A CRAZY MAD FLASHBACK-

Inuyasha stood in front of Kagome, looking her in the eye.

"Kagome, just let me be with you, please. I don't know what it is, but you're different from the other women; even Shippo knows that. He didn't beg me not to go tonight. Don't you see? You could be the one?"

Kagome blushed at the thought. 'He's lost it. Inuyasha has gone crazy.'

"But Shippo--"

Kagome was cut off by Inuyasha placing his lips on hers gently. He barely moved his mouth against hers, as if afraid to go further. Kagome didn't know what was going on with her, but she felt herself kissing him back.

It was a slow kiss, one that held intense emotion in it, but it never went very far. Inuyasha pulled away slightly, just as Kagome was getting the hang of being so close to him. He pressed another small kiss on the side of her mouth and smiled.

"I wanted to do that for a long time." he whispered.

Kagome didn't know what to say. They were right in the middle of an argument, and then that? What was she supposed to say? 'I really disagree with your parental methods, but you're a really good kisser?'

"Kagome."

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, and he gave her his most honest look.

"Shippo means everything to me. I wouldn't trade him for the world. I want the best for him. But don't you think I deserve to have love with a woman too? Don't you think I deserve to have a second try at having a full family again? I know I screwed up before with my first wife, but I'm trying my hardest to make it right. Can't you just be with me now, and not worry about any of that? Just for this time?"

Inuyasha stroked her cheek gently as he said this. Kagome saw many emotions swim through his eyes. She was beginning to understand Inuyasha a little bit.

He leaned in to kiss her once more, and Kagome didn't fight it.

She temporarily forgot about her motives to befriend Shippo. She forgot about growing up. Kagome forgot about all of her jobs. The only thing that swam in her mind was the kiss she was enjoying.

* * *

OKAY YES THAT WAS FLUFFY AND MUSHY! I DUNNO, IT WAS KIND OF HARD TO WRITE FOR ME, BECAUSE I'M NOT SO GOOD WITH WRITING ABOUT KISSING SCENES...I GUESS IT'S BECAUSE MY EXPERIENCE IN THAT DEPARTMENT IS LIKE POINT ZERO FIVE. ANYWAYS I HOPED YOU LIKED IT. I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS...

AND BTW I DIDN'T JUST UP AND DECIDE TO MAKE KAGOME LIKE SHIPPO IN ANYWAY. THIS WAS PLANNED BEFORE WRITING IT! THINK ABOUT IT! SHE UNDERSTANDS WHY HE'S SO AGAINST HIS DAD AND OTHER WOMEN. SHE KNOWS WHAT HE DOESN'T NEED RIGHT NOW! SHE GETS HIM!

DOES IT MAKE SENSE? JUST THOUGHT I'D TELL YOU, I DIDN'T WANT YOU ALL THINKING, OH SO SHE DECIDES TO MAKE KAGOME LIKE THAT RANDOMLY. BLAH. NOPE, I PLANNED IT:p


	9. Chapter 8

**REI'S CORNER: **Hi! Sigh, the time has come my fellow Inu-lovers. School for me starts next week! And it starts on the day that I type the chapter! (Grr) but I will try to make an effort to type it on and earlier day, so that I can update on time! But if I miss the date, I apologize in advance, because the first day of school is like a holiday in my house. My family goes out shopping and we run around like chickens and lose our heads for the first few days! But I shall try!

As of now, I have exactly 17 chapters planned out for this story! I hit the end at chapter 17, but I am disappointed with the quality of the chapters! So I am trying to shove in some extra chapters and break up some of the extreme events to make the story longer, ok? So stay tuned!

I'd like to thank all of you who commented on my kissing scene between Inu and Kagome last chapter. I really thought it was bad, and you all cheered me up!

ATTENTION! If any of you are fans the following artists: Sowelu, Rain (he sings a song called I Do), or Lin Jun Jie (I know he's Chinese, dunno if I spelled it right) could you please contact me ASAP! I really need to know some information regarding their songs and CDs! Just review, and I'll get back to you!

DISCLAIMER: Nope. Inuyasha and all its characters are not mine.

Chapter 8- Kagome's Planned Camping Trip

Shippo smiled and tugged on the fishing line. He'd already caught two big fish.

"Another one?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippo reeled in a very large catfish. He laughed as his father struggled with the net. After a few minutes of refusal, the fish gave up, and they put it with the other caught fish. Inuyasha grinned and started to put away his fishing pole.

"We might as well bring it in for the day. We've already caught more than enough for dinner."

Shippo nodded and cleaned up around his fishing area. Inuyasha rowed them in to shore and they packed up to go to camp.

It was their last night there. Earlier in the week, Inuyasha surprised Shippo by taking him on the promised camping trip to Canterbury Park. They'd spent the last three days just being nature guys. Inuyasha took off a personal vacation, so he never once received a phone call, or surprise visit from any employees. He only hoped that the company wouldn't be in ruins when he returned.

Shippo was having the time of his life. He'd never done anything like this with his dad before. They gazed at the stars every night, they went swimming in the lake, they'd even done some exploring in a nearby cave. He was glad that he was able to speak to his dad for once.

When they returned to camp, Inuyasha set himself upon building a fire.

"My dad taught me how to do this when I was your age."

Shippo burst out laughing.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"Grandpa did **not** teach you that!"

"He did too."

"I don't believe it."

"Why?"

"Because Grandpa is an old fart."

Inuyasha laughed. Shippo and is his father never really did get along. Right from the start, Shippo took a dislike for the older man. Inuyasha remembered the first time they met.

-This. Is a FLASHBACK!-

Inuyasha and Kikyo walked into the mansion, smiling at their fellow family members. Inuyasha was holding Shippo proudly against his chest, with Kikyo clinging to his side. His father stepped in front of him with a large grin on his face.

"Well, where's my little granddaughter!"

Inuyasha and Kikyo shared a look of confusion, but it was cut short when the older man yanked little Shippo out of Inuyasha's arms.

"Let me get a look at you little one." he cooed.

Shippo was wide awake, and looking at the unknown man like he was crazy. Almost like he knew the mistake that his grandfather was making. His little eyebrows furrowed and he shot a pleading look at his parents.

Grandfather Taisho started bouncing little Shippo in his arms enthusiastically. "Her hair is so differently brown from everyone else's." he noted.

"Uh dad..."

"Hush now, Inuyasha, can't you see me bonding with my first granddaughter?"

Shippo started crying and Inuyasha went to retrieve him, but his arm got pushed away.

"No problem, no problem little one. You are probably just wet from the ride over. I shall fix that."

Inuyasha looked at his grandmother for help.

"Dear? Maybe you should--"

"Nonsense, Mother. I'll be back."

And with that, Grandfather Taisho snatched the diaper bag from Kikyo and disappeared around the corner.

The people in the room looked at each other with a, 'What to do?' look, but did not move. The problem would fix itself in just a few...

"_What in the hell!"_

...now.

Inuyasha and Kikyo rounded the corner along with Inuyasha's grandmother to watch the process unfold.

"A boy!"

Shippo stopped crying temporarily and gave the older man a baby glare, feeling unhappy that he was naked from the waist down and an older man screaming obscenities about something he didn't understand.

Grandfather Taisho was deeply surprised, angered, and disappointed! He wanted a granddaughter! One that he could spoil to no end with pink colors, and dolls, and little fake kitchens! One that could help save his company in the years to come!

"A boy!" he yelled again.

In his tantrum, the old man did not notice the cries of the baby, and how they grew. He paid no attention to the little..._boy_.

Shippo, this little fellow, was not a happy camper.

After another short moment, Grandfather Taisho began to get even angrier at the result of his son's first child. Then suddenly, he felt something hit his chin. Shocked, he looked down just in time for the little surprise to stream up his nose and hit him square between the eyes.

From his spot in the doorway, Inuyasha winced. 'Well at least they're bonding.'

-that. Was a FLASHBACK!-

"Dad?" Shippo caught his attention. Inuyasha chuckled lightly and continued his task at hand.

"Believe it or not, kiddo, Grandpa was actually a cool guy back in the day."

Shippo scoffed and turned to grab something out of his bag.

When the fire was all set, Inuyasha showed Shippo how to scale and gut the fish; something else that his own father had taught him. It was a difficult task, but rewarding. They had the fish and some berries they found earlier.

After dinner, Inuyasha extinguished the fire and brought out the sleeping bags. They decided against sleeping in their tent tonight, since it was such a clear night tonight, and because they would have to leave in the morning.

Shippo pointed out some of the star constellations that he learned. It was a very peaceful atmosphere, and Inuyasha was glad that he took of from work to spend the time with Shippo. Speaking of work...

"Shippo, you had fun, didn't you?"

Shippo nodded in his sleeping bag. "A blast. I hope we can come back soon! I really like it, dad."

Inuyasha smiled.

"Thanks for taking me out here dad."

"Actually...you should be thanking Kagome."

Shippo felt the happiness sink down below into his gut, and he stopped smiling. Inuyasha continued.

"I told her about our promise a while ago, and she put it all together. She was the one who actually suggested to go now. Don't get me wrong, Shippo, I really wanted to come with you. And I had every intention of keeping my promise. Just, with work and everything, I didn't know how to pull all the string together. I've been really busy lately."

"Yeah." Shippo responded softly from his sleeping bag.

"Kagome really likes you, you know? She practically won't even date me unless she gets to see you."

"Yeah." Shippo pretended to yawn.

"You like her too don't you?" Inuyasha asked. He was surprised at himself really; he never asked Shippo if he'd liked any of his girlfriends before. This was a first. But to him, Kagome was special, and something inside of him needed to know this information. He wasn't sure why, but he _had_ to know.

He didn't get an answer. "Shippo?"

Inuyasha lifted his head and saw that Shippo was sleeping. 'Well he should be tired after all the stuff we did today. I'll ask him later.' Inuyasha smiled and turned on his side and closed his eyes. Sleep took him only moments later.

Shippo heard his dad's breath even out into sleep, and opened his eyes.

What had just happened? His dad never asked if he liked his girlfriends before. He narrowed his eyes on a rock lying a few inches away from him. He pretended that it was Kagome.

He hated how she was changing his dad. He hated how she would grin at him with false friendliness. How she always took his side whenever they did something together. Shippo hated the look in his dad's eyes as he watched Kagome. He hated how she just shoved her way into their lives, acting like she was 'one of the family.'

Shippo grabbed the rock and threw it. The rock hit a tree and bounced off, landed near where the fire was extinguished.

'I hate her.' Shippo vowed.

LINE THING NOT WORKING 

They arrived back at home around noon the next day. Shippo was quiet the whole way, unlike how excited he'd been when they were on their way to the camping park. Inuyasha figured that he was disappointed at how fast the time went. Inuyasha was a bit disappointed too, he was having so much fun.

When they pulled up to the curb, and got out of the car, Kagome was waiting for them on the porch, with three bags in her hands. She smiled when they got out of the car.

"Hey guys! How'd it go?" she asked. Shippo looked her.

"It was great." he said without emotion.

Inuyasha grinned and pulled Kagome into a hug and a short kiss. "Thanks." he told her.

Kagome had a huge blush on her face, and she nodded, then looked at Shippo to gage his reaction. He had his back turned to the couple, and was pulling something out of the back seat.

'He's still not ready.' Kagome thought as she half-yanked herself out of Inuyasha's hold. Inuyasha looked a little disappointed at this, but then went to help Shippo unpack the car.

Inuyasha threw his house keys at Kagome, and she opened the door for them. As Shippo walked passed her, she gave him a nod. "I brought lunch for you."

Shippo didn't even look back at her. "I'm not hungry."

Kagome frowned a little then nodded to herself. "Okay. I'll but it in the kitchen for you in case you change your mind."

After the car was unpacked, Shippo went up to his room and locked his door.

Inuyasha sat with Kagome at the kitchen table, talking about the trip. He ate some of the food that she brought and she smiled as he told her about their cave adventures.

"How's the office?" he asked suddenly.

"It's fine." she reported. "I got all of your work done for you. You start with a clean slate tomorrow." she said.

Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'Why am I so surprised? This is Kagome I'm talking to.' he thought to himself.

Kagome's watch beeped and she hit the little button. "Well, I gotta get going."

Inuyasha frowned. "What job is it this time?"

"Animal Shelter. They're running short on staff this year."

When Kagome turned to go, Inuyasha pulled her back and kissed her on the forehead.

"Don't go." he pleaded casually.

Kagome chuckled. "I have to." she shyly gave him a peck on his lips and twisted out of his grasp, disappearing out of the door.

Inuyasha silently fumed. 'You'll only be mine, Kagome. Just you wait.'

DUDE WHAT'S GOIN ON WITH THIS LINE THING NOTHING'S WORKING

OBVIOUSLY, is having some problems right now! (this is the third time I tried to update and it finally let me in) so I i just Broke time changes with words. Sorry for any confusion. When it's working better, I'll go back and fix it so it looks normal. How annoying.

So what did you think? Please let me know. And ask any questions that you might have about this chapter or this story, ok? I'll be happy to answer the best that I can!

Oh yeah, don't forget to contact me if you are a Sowelu, Rain, or Lin Jun Jie fan!


	10. Chapter 9

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi again, I've taken the liberty to type the up on Monday, so that I could update on time this week! Yay! But Please take note that the school year has now started, so updates may be less frequent! I shall try my best to make it on due time!

AS FOR THE REVIEWS! Gee wow, thanks for all the reviews everybody, I greatly appreciate it. I've gotten a complaint on Kagome's character, and all I can say is this, "if you don't like how she is, don't read the story" because as much as I love writing for you all, I cannot appeal to everyone. Sorry. Also, for those of you who are eager to see Shippo warm up to Kagome, please be patient! The time will come when everything and everyone comes together, and you'll be satisfied, I hope, with how it turns out. Thanks to all of you the gave me feedback. I LOVE IT! Oh and for the people who are wondering if Sesshomaru is going to be in the story, heh heh we shall see. Evil laugh. Bwaha. (Ron: What a dork)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or the characters. If you were to try and sue me, you would get nothing due to the fact that I have nothing to give you. Except for maybe my dignity and my pride.

Chapter 9- Sickenly Sweet

"Hello?"

Kagome was balancing her cell phone between her shoulder and her ear as she was mopping the floor.

"Hey. It's me." came the gruff reply.

"Hi, Inuyasha."

They hadn't spoken to each other in two days. Inuyasha returned to work, shocked at how much work she'd gotten done, and took it upon himself to pull up more challenging work to do. Kagome figured his ego had been hurt when she reported back to him on finishing all of his work. He was trying to show off. Anyway, they hadn't spoken in two days, because Inuyasha was busy in his office with his work, and coming had to fill in and do overtime at the cafeteria.

"What's up?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha's voice sounded hesitant on the other end.

"Nothing. Me and Shippo are gonna have movie night here in the living room tonight. Do you want to come?"

Kagome thought about it. "Um..."

"I mean, unless you have some other _job_ to be doing. I know just how busy you are."

Kagome frowned at his sarcasm. "I can come...I was just thinking about what to bring."

"Don't bring anything. Just come."

"Okay."

"Good. What are you doing right now?"

"Working."

She heard Inuyasha let out a frustrated grunt and laughed. "It's nothing big. Just cleaning up the area some."

"Yeah." Inuyasha said.

"So I'll see you later tonight?"

"You'd better." Kagome sighed.

"Yeah whatever. See you later."

"Bye."

THE LINE THING IS STILL NOT WORKING!

The door opened, and a smiling Shippo stood back to let her enter.

"Hi, Kagome. How was your day?" he asked.

"Fine. It was fine." Kagome said, unsure of his mood.

Kagome had never seen him smile like that at her before, it was almost unnerving, yet it was nice for the change.

"Dad's upstairs. We're gonna start the movie soon."

"Okay."

Kagome patted him on the head, smiling at him. Something changed in his eyes, but it changed back ever so briefly, and Kagome thought that maybe she was imagining things.

"Hey!"

Kagome looked over her shoulder and saw Inuyasha grinning at her. He pulled her into a monster hug and asked her how her day was.

'That's really weird. They're acting like I...'

"Look, we got everything ready before you came! The popcorn's right there on the table with the pizza, the movie's in and rewound all we have to do is sit and press 'play'." Shippo told her.

Kagome nodded, and waited until the other two sat down. She sat down on the floor next to Shippo, who smiled at her and nodded at the screen. Inuyasha, who was on the couch, pushed play with a frustrated look on his face; he felt forgotten.

Throughout the movie, Shippo laughed and pointed things out to Kagome that he'd learned about from his friends. Kagome felt very peaceful with Shippo's newly found attitude with her. But she couldn't help but feel a little skeptical about it. She recalled that just the other day he removed her bus pass from her purse and made her late for work on 'accident'. She wasn't exactly sure how to react.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, was the one who was acting like the child. He kept trying to make her slide up on the couch with him, and when she refused, he sulked. Kagome laughed at this, and he only further made himself seem like a child by sticking his tongue out at her. Then he started throwing popcorn in her hair.

After three movies, it was pretty late, and Shippo announced that he was tired and was going to bed. Inuyasha gritted out a 'goodnight' for him, then he turned to Kagome.

"Kagome, come tuck me in."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Kagome asked.

"Tuck me in. Please?" he tried to sound as innocent as possible, and it was then that Kagome knew he was up to something.

"Um aren't you a little old for that?" Kagome asked.

"I never had a mom to tuck me in, Kagome. Won't you show me what it's like?"

'Yeah. He's definitely up to something.' her mind screamed.

"Alright...I'll be right back." she told Inuyasha.

Kagome followed Shippo up to his room to see what he wanted. When they reached their destination, Shippo shut the door behind him, and Kagome looked around the room.

"You have some interesting things in here." she said, poking at a globe.

"I have two hundred bucks stashed away." Shippo said.

"Ok..?"

Shippo walking over to his bed and pulled out his yellow box. Inside, there was a jar full of money; it looked like a bunch of five and ten dollar bills crammed into the jar, along with some change. He picked it up and thrust it into her hands. Kagome looked down confusedly at the jar.

"Take it." he said.

"I don't get it...for what?"

Shippo groaned. "It's a bribe, idiot! Take that money, and stay away from my dad!"

Kagome's eyebrows raised when he yelled it out at her. She was silent for a moment, thinking about what to say to him, before placing the jar on his desk.

"What?" Shippo asked, "is it not enough for you? Are you trying to squeeze more out of my dad?"

Kagome started laughing. This confused Shippo to no end, but he kept his tough face on.

"Shippo, you're...I'm sorry but that, that was just to funny! And that serious look on your face...I _knew_ you were up to something tonight." she laughed.

When she stopped laughing, she sat on his bed carefully, giving him plenty of space.

"Shippo, believe it or not, I'm not after your dad's money. I'm not after anything from your dad really. As a matter of fact, he's the one that keeps me around. I really don't know why."

"My dad just doesn't know what he's talking about! He doesn't know who you really are, he doesn't--"

"Your dad is a grown man!" Kagome shouted.

Shippo's face turned red, and Kagome immediately knew that she shouldn't have said it that way.

"What I mean is...your dad just wants to be happy, okay? I understand how you feel, really I do, but do you ever think of what your dad wants?"

"Don't try that psychoanalysis on me. I know my dad. You don't."

"You're right."

Shippo's eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I don't know your dad all that much. But I know he's a nice guy. And I know that you're a good kid. You just have some...problems."

Shippo scoffed. "Whatever."

"I'm not trying to be your mother, Shippo."

Shippo looked at her in surprise. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. He knew that those other women that his father dated didn't want to be his mother either, they just wanted the money, or other stuff, he knew that. But Kagome actually said it. And something in the way she said it surprised him. He didn't know why.

They heard the door click open, and Inuyasha popped his head in the door.

"What's going on?" he asked, "I heard you yelling. I thought you were going to bed." he said softly.

Kagome stood up off of his bed.

"Kagome, what's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing." they both said at the same time.

Shippo turned his back to them and started rummaging threw his closet.

"I **am** going to bed, dad. Um, do you mind leaving?" he held up his pajamas to emphasize it, and Inuyasha nodded and left.

Kagome nodded at him. "Goodnight Shippo."

She didn't get an answer, nor did she expect one, and followed Inuyasha back downstairs.

"What was that?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome shrugged. He wouldn't understand.

"I'd better go. I have to work in the morning."

Inuyasha frowned and took hold of her wrist. "You don't want to..."

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

Kagome heard her mother laughing downstairs. That man was still there. Even though it was passed ten o'clock, and it was a school night, he was still there.

It was silent for a minute, then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Shh. We have to be quiet, Kagome has school tomorrow." she heard her mother whisper near the door.

After she heard the door to her mother's room open and close, Kagome's eyes started to water.

'Sure I have school tomorrow, but do you even care if I'm asleep?' her mind wondered.

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

"No." Kagome said firmly.

Inuyasha wondered what was going on in her head. She seemed so distant.

"Kagome..."

"I have to go."

Kagome picked up her purse near the door and opened it. Inuyasha watched from the other side of the room.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. Kagome only shook her head in response.

"I'm just very tired and I..." she trailed off. "I'll see you at work."

Inuyasha watched as she shut the door. He didn't know what to say, so he cleaned up, then went to bed.

BLAB SNUFFLE CONDORCK-A-DIRK FWAH WAP COODOOTOOP SHIMJETTI FOJINK-LO CAGOOSH! (dumb line thing )

WOW that came out a lot different than I planned! It seemed a little darker, and deeper, but I hope that you liked it anyway! Please bear with me as I make the transition from humor to seriousness with this story, it will still have its charm, it just might get a little dramatic for a while. Stay tuned please.


	11. Chapter 10

**REI'S CORNER:** Yikes! Where I that time go! Yes, I know that today is not Thursday, and apologize greatly for it. But can someone please tell me what English teacher assigns a paper on the first day of school!

Oh, and I know that there are probably lots of spelling errors! I was just rushing to get this out before the site went down for the night, and so that you wouldn't hate me for keeping you waiting! I will tend to the errors ASAP!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine!

ALSO NOTE: WARNING! Get ready for an emotional ride!

Ch. 10- I Have had it!

Shippo entered the bookstore in attempt to find his favorite comic book somewhere piled onto a shelf, but what he found, much to his own displeasure, was Kagome behind the front counter, chewing bubble gum and ringing people's purchases up.

"Thanks, have a good day! Come again!" she announced cheerfully at the customer.

Shippo rolled his eyes and ran to the comic section. He didn't even want to _think_ about that woman. He buried his face in a book, trying to ignore her cheerful presence from the front.

"_Dad, I want to go look at the comics!" Shippo said._

"_Fine! Just stay out of trouble." Inuyasha said._

'Why? Why did I insist on coming in here?' Shippo thought.

Inuyasha was in the next store over, buying hardware supplies for their back porch. Shippo announced earlier in the week that he thought it would be fun to build a birdhouse, and Inuyasha later got the idea to re-do the whole back porch, spruce it up a bit.

'Why!'

It was at this moment that Shippo noticed that there was a man, dressed in very baggy clothing, standing right in front of him. He had been standing there for at least ten minutes now, an open book in his hand. But the man wasn't looking at the book. In a sneaky way, he was peering around the bookshelf. Shippo angled his head to find that the man was staring at Kagome!

'Gross.' Shippo thought, the man was practically undressing her with his eyes. 'Just disgusting.'

Then Shippo got an idea.

Shippo rose from his stool and stood next to the man.

"Hey."

The man jumped and looked down at his book, trying to make in seem less ovbious he'd been caught staring.

"She's hot isn't she?" Shippo asked.

The shocked man only slowly nodded.

"I know, I look really young to be saying stuff about hot chicks. I'm actually seventeen. You know what they say about eating your vegetables..."

The man gave Shippo a very suspicious look. Shippo knew that he wouldn't believe him; it didn't matter though. He already had the man, hook, line, and sinker.

"I come here a lot. Seems she broke up with her boyfriend a little while ago."

The man looked back at Kagome with a look Shippo couldn't read. He closed the book in his hand.

"She is pretty hot." the man said in a low tone.

"Yup. She's too old for me though. My mom would throw a fit. I say you go for it."

The man nodded. "Go for it." he repeated before brushing himself off and making his way to the front of the store.

Shippo waited for a minute, then sneaking out of the door unnoticed and went back into the hardware store. He had no trouble finding Inuyasha; he was currently paying for their materials.

"Hey. Find what you were looking for?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yup, come buy it with me, dad?"

"Yeah. Hold on, I'll be there in just a minute." Inuyasha said as he handed the man across from him a fifty dollar bill.

Shippo smirked and headed back over to the book store, and went back to the comic section. He didn't fail to notice that the man was still there, flirting with Kagome and trying to get a rise out of her as he passed by.

'Bye-bye Kagome.' he thought.

---

Inuyasha entered the bookstore. He had already put there hardware supplies in the car.

'Okay Shippo, where are you?' he wondered.

"So, Kagome, right? How about we go out somewhere? You know, just us." he heard.

Upon hearing Kagome's name, he turned sharply and took in the sight before him.

Some guy, some ugly poorly dressed fool, had his hands on Kagome. Kagome! Inuyasha felt fire burn in his gut as he stomped toward the cash register where the pervert was.

Meanwhile, Kagome was busy trying to usher the man off. He wasn't taking the hint though, and continued to press on, saying something about braking up with a boyfriend. She spotted Inuyasha coming her way, face red in fury, and hands clenched by his sides.

'I don't know whether to feel relieved or scared.' she thought.

The other man, now known as Steve, was yanked away from Kagome and slammed against the nearest bookshelf.

"Just who the _hell_ do you think you are!" Steve yelled.

"That's funny! I was just about to ask you the same thing!" Inuyasha yelled back.

"Inuyasha--" Kagome was interrupted.

"I don't know what possessed you to put your gross STD-infested hands on _my_ girlfriend, but you'd better have some kind of explanation! I'm kicking you ass either way, but if there's a reason, I'll ease up!"

"Inuyasa! Stop it!"

Inuyasha ignored Kagome and waited for Steve to say something. Steve only gave him a disgusting grin.

"Wow, you need to let go. She doesn't want you anymore, I heard. You can't blame me for moving in on that." When he said it, he let his eyes roam over Kagome. Kagome shuddered in disgust and Inuyasha started to see red.

Shippo snickered from his spot. The manager of the store ran passed him, trying to get the men to leave the premises.

"Sirs, please! I do not want to have to call the police!" the manager yelled.

Inuyasha temporarily calmed down and nodded. "Sorry, we'll take this somewhere else." he said.

With that, Inuyasha spun on his heel and walked out of the front door, dragging Steve with him. Shippo snuck out after them, along with Kagome, who looked very worried.

When Inuyasha reached a far enough distance from the public view, he let Steve go, violently pushing him down to the ground.

Kagome gasped and ran faster to stop the fight. Shippo walked his own pace behind, grinning.

Steve stood and took a swing at Inuyasha, knocking him in the stomach.

Kagome reached them.

"Stop it!"

"Kagome, get **back in the store!**" Inuyasha yelled.

"No! Stop fighting!" she yelled back and ran to the middle of them.

"Kagome, who's this loser?" Steve asked.

Kagome turned around, anger clear in her eyes.

"That _loser_ is my boyfriend! I don't know who _you_ are, are what _your_ problem is, but you'd best leave before something happens that we'll all regret!" she yelled.

"Boyfriend? But I thought--"

"Leave!" Kagome and Inuyasha yelled at the same time.

Steve straightened up. Dusting himself off, he walked away, bidding them both trips to hell. He passed the 'seventeen' year old on his way.

"By the way," Shippo told him, "I forgot to tell you my dad has some...jealousy issues." Shippo smirked.

Steve stomped away, bidding Shippo a trip to hell also.

Shippo laughed at this, and made his way to the 'battle field' where Kagome and his dad were currently have a very volume-inclined argument.

"I was trying not to cause a scene!"

"So you let him put his nasty hands all over you in the process!"

"Inuyasha you aren't even listening to me at all!"

Shippo took a seat on a nearby bench.

"If you would quit all these stupid jobs like I told you, we wouldn't be here right now would we!"

"I'm not going to give up on my life just because you want to date me, Mr. Taisho! I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way!"

"I never asked you to give up your life! Just stop working!"

"Working is my life!"

"Your life could be with me!"

They paused for a minute, taking in what the other had said. Shippo sighed, he had a feeling that this would come sooner or later.

"What were you doing here in the first place?" Kagome asked, changing the subject.

They both stopped yelling, and settled for firmly speaking in a low tone. "Shippo wanted to buy something."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Shippo?"

"Yes, Shippo. Would you stop changing the subject?"

Kagome then noticed that they had an audience. Shippo gave her a hard stare, and she knew where all of this had come from.

"Inuyasha, isn't it just a little convenient that Shippo's sitting right there?" she pointed to Shippo on the bench.

Inuyasha noticed Shippo for the first time. He shrugged it off. "What are you getting at, Kagome?"

Kagome didn't say anything, she looked down, feeling bad for bringing it up in the first place.

"Kagome?"

Kagome looked away.

"What about Shippo, Kagome!"

"Nothing, Inuyasha."

"No, you tell me right now what you were thinking! What is it? You think he's a bad kid? You think _he_ made that guy hit on you!" Inuyasha was starting to yell again.

"Kagome, that's real low." Shippo said.

"You stay out of this." Inuyasha told him. "Go wait for me at the car."

Shippo scoffed and stood to walk away. 'I'm gonna miss the good part.' his mind yelled.

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome. "I have had enough of you using Shippo as excuses, Kagome. Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Kagome sighed. Inuyasha would never understand.

"Well?"

"Look, Inuyasha, I don't think you give Shippo enough credit, he's a lot smarter that you think he is...he's...more _aware_ of things you don't think he knows about."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Don't start with that psychoanalysis crap!"

'Naturally that's where Shippo gets it from...' she thought.

"I think you're just using Shippo as an excuse to not be with me." Inuyasha said.

"What? Inuyasha..no."

Inuyasha held his hand up to silence her.

"If you don't want to be with me because I have a kid, you could have just been honest from the start."

"That's not even hardly it, Inuyasha! Please listen to me! There's--"

"Kagome grow up would you!" Inuyasha yelled. He knew that she tensed every time someone said that to her. He said it on purpose to make her feel how he was feeling. He saw her back tense, and she turned around and sniffed. He immediately wanted to take it back though.

'What the hell's the matter with me! Don't cry, Kagome!' his mind screamed.

"Kagome..."

"I'm going back to work." she said before running back to the bookstore.

Inuyasha walked back to his car with his head down. He was still very angry about the whole ordeal, it's just that there was something else there...regret? Sadness? He didn't know what it was.

Shippo looked at him as he entered the car and started it.

"Dad? My book?" he asked.

"Another time." Inuyasha gritted out.

Shippo turned to the window and grinned. Goodbye Kagome.

---

Kagome angrily hopped onto the bus.

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

"Kagome, sources tell me that you were the cause of that nonsense."

Kagome turned, shocked. She nodded honestly, knowing what was coming, but not wanting to face it.

"I'm sorry but--"

"It's fine sir, I understand."

"It's just that I can't have these things happening in my store. It's supposed to be a peaceful environment..."

"I said it's fine, sir."

Kagome went to the back room to gather her things and go home.

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

How dare he? That was one of her favorite jobs, and he'd gotten her fired. Again! And how dare he tell her to grow up! All she did was try to tell him the truth!

She could barely contain her anger as she sat down. It was like, ever since Inuyasha came into her life, on a personal level anyway, everything was screwing up! She couldn't think straight! Why did she have to get mixed up in this?

The electronic sign on the bus noted that Parka Street was the next stop. That's where Inuyasha lived. Kagome then knew what she had to do. She stood and reached for the cord.

---

Inuyasha felt horrible. He knew that he shouldn't have said some of the things that he said. He was so angry though, from the man putting his hands on Kagome! He knew that it wasn't such a good excuse, but that was all he really had.

He started to wonder why it bothered Kagome to hear someone tell her to grow up. Maybe she'd been working from a very young age, and she had no chance at a proper childhood? He wasn't sure.

The phone rang. He answered it with a grim 'hello'.

"Dad, it's me. I'm checking in." Shippo said.

"Yeah. You having fun?" He asked.

"Yeah! It's great, you should've came!"

Shippo left earlier, going to the arcade. He said he was going to go celebrate acing a test with his friends. Inuyasha let him, too tired to even argue.

"Oh, I gotta go, dad! Mark just got more tokens!"

"Okay. Have fun. Be back before nine, okay?"

"Okay, Dad. Bye!"

Inuyasha hung up the phone simultaneously as the doorbell rang. He peeked out to see Kagome standing on his stoop. His heart jumped.

'Kagome!'

He hastily checked himself in the mirror. 'Have to apologize...'

When he opened the door, Inuyasha was met with a very different-looking Kagome. Something about her had changed, he could see it in her eyes. He didn't know what to say, all he knew was that he was probably the cause of the change, and he felt bad for it.

"Kagome..."

"I came here to tell you that I think it would be best to go back to just being on a business level." Kagome said.

"What?" Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"I think we should...break up."

---

Hmm. So the line thing is still not working...how incredibly infuriating...

OH MY GOODNESS! I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING! DID YOU?

What's going to happen next? Is Inuyasha just going to let Kagome go like that!

Review please!


	12. Chapter 11

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi again! It's me, and I happen to be on time this week! Yay for me! Um I'm afraid that this chapter is going to be VERY short! Sorry! But in order to lengthen out the other chapter, and NOT rush the end, I had to. See, I decided to chop off the real end of last chapter, and added it on to this chapter, so I chopped off about 80 of this chapter and I'm making it its own chapter. So there. Lol, hope you enjoy it!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha. But I did buy a book on learning Japanese. In fact, I bought three of them and some flash cards! Anyone know Japanese? Wanna help me learn? Lol.

Ch. 11- Continued Madness

Inuyasha sighed, pressing his head against the coolness of his desk. He felt miserable; Shippo turned up suddenly with strep throat this morning, Kaede couldn't show up to take care of him, and to top it all off, Kagome still wasn't talking to him. Where did it all go wrong?

It was only the day after Kagome broke up with him; he wasn't quite over it. When she left last night, he destroyed his room. Things were thrown, words were said, but when it was all over, he didn't have Kagome any more than he had her when he started.

Then Shippo came home. He'd been at the arcade for most of the evening. He said that he didn't feel good. Inuyasha figured that he picked something up from someone there, and told him to stay inside for the next day. Inuyasha felt everything slowly slipping through his fingers; he felt himself losing all of his control.

His intercom beeped.

"There is a call for you on line two, Mr. Taisho." Kagome's voiced rang through the room.

Inuyasha's pulse went faster. Kagome hadn't said anything to him today, so it was a bit of a relief to hear her voice. He didn't even care about the call. He just wanted to hear her talk again. He pushed the intercom button.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that. What?" he asked.

"A call on line two?" Kagome replied.

"Right." Inuyasha said, not knowing what else to say. He let go of the intercom button and pushed his head back in his chair.

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

"Good morning, Kagome." Inuyasha greeted.

He waited for her to say something back, but she didn't. He half expected that, but he hoped that she would have at least greeted him back. Who was he kidding though, he knew that he didn't deserve it for freaking out yesterday.

"Look, Kagome...I"

Kagome suddenly rose out of her chair and slapped a sticky note on her computer monitor. Before Inuyasha could even say anything, she was headed down the hall without even a glance over her shoulder.

Inuyasha sighed and looked at the sticky note.

_-Gone to the copier room to make copies. Should be back in five to ten minutes. Please leave any work on the desk or write an email. Thanks._

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

He didn't know what to do. All throughout the day, he tried talking to her–he tried apologizing! But she wouldn't listen to him! She wouldn't even acknowledge his presence!

"Screw it, I've been trying hard. She won't even look at me."

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door. He looked up just as Kagome was walking through the door. His eyes widened briefly just before he jumped out of his chair.

"Kagome!"

"Your son has been calling constantly sir. He's _still_ on line two." she said with a dull tone.

Inuyasha nodded, and she turned to walk out of the door.

"Kagome wait!"

On reflex, Kagome stopped and turned to hear him.

"I just want to say..."

Kagome turned to walk out once more, no longer caring.

"I have something I need you to do for me."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and waited impatiently for him to say something.

"Could you wait there a moment? I'd better take the call."

Kagome looked at him distastefully, but stood still. Inuyasha picked up the phone and talked to Shippo shortly. Shippo was home alone, and needed to know where the medicine was. Inuyasha told him quickly and hung up the phone.

"Your son is sick?" Kagome asked quietly.

Inuyasha looked at her knowingly, before moving around his desk and to the door. Kagome didn't see him, but he was locking the office door behind his back.

"Yeah. Strep throat. He'll be okay."

Kagome shrugged. "What did you need for me to do?" she asked.

"I need you to...forgive me."

She visibly tensed.

"Kagome, I know that you're angry at me, and I know that I got you fired...I'm really sorry. Just forgive me already. If it makes you happy, I'll find you a new job."

Kagome started shaking her head.

"I'm not good at this groveling stuff..." he joked. "Are you going to make this any harder on me?"

"Mr. Taisho, if you have any _work_ that you need me to do..."

"Listen to me, damn it!"

"NO!"

Kagome tried to get out of the door, but Inuyasha was still blocking it.

"I'm not going to let you go like this, Kagome. If I just--"

"You...You, you, **you**! That's all you're talking about here!"

"Kagome..."

"No, I don't care anymore."

Inuyasha shuddered at his growing anger. "You don't care? Oh yeah right! Just like you didn't care that Shippo was sick, right?"

Kagome froze. Inuyasha smirked, feeling that he won. Yes, yesterday he'd accused her of using Shippo for her own selfish reasons, but he'd thought about it; he cooled down. He knew that Kagome cared for Shippo and himself. She **had** to! Why else had she done things the way that she had?

"I never said I didn't...care about Shippo." Kagome said.

"Then what's the problem?"

Kagome looked away.

"Look at me."

She ignored him. Inuyasha wrapped an arm around her waist and turned her chin with the other hand.

"Let go of me."

"What's the problem?"

"Let go!"

"What the hell is your problem!"

"--You!"

Kagome pushed him away roughly. "You always parade around with women, claiming that you're only looking out for your son! You keep telling yourself over and over, 'Shippo needs a mother! I didn't have a mother, so just because I was miserable without one, Shippo MUST need one!' **He does not want a mother!** You accuse **me** of using Shippo, take a look in the mirror!"

"What!"

"Y-you heard me!"

Inuyasha laughed dryly. "How dare you?"

Kagome's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You don't know anything about us...you...you bitch!"

"What did you just call me!"

"A bitch! Who the hell are you to tell me who I am and who my son is!"

"Someone who's willing to tell you the truth obviously!"

"Oh, so you're a liar too?"

Kagome shook her head and unlocked the door for herself.

"You just wait, _Mr. Taisho._ When you realize it, it'll be too late."

"And just what do I need to realize?"

"...Ever..." Kagome sighed as if trying to place the words together in her head correctly. "Ever wonder why sometimes the women you're dating just...disappear for some reason? Or..or why some, all of a sudden, just turn into mean women who seem to not care? Ever wonder why some of your dates go off on Shippo for 'no reason at all'?"

Inuyasha had heard enough. "Get out!"

"Ever why some of the ones that you really got alone with...the ones that you were almost completely sure you were going to marry...ever wonder why you see them every now and then and they look at you with sad eyes? Ever wonder why they runaway when your son's near?"

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

"Inuyasha?" came a voice behind him.

Inuyasha turned and met the face of Jojo. She looked gorgeous today, with her blonde hair flowing out around her shoulders.

"Hey Jo! How've you been?" he asked politely. He noticed her blushing and she looked at him with admiration in her eyes.

"I've been alright. It's not the same without you though." she giggled and touched his shoulder.

Inuyasha smirked. "May I remind you that it was you who wanted to be 'just friends' in the first place?"

Jojo nodded and a look of sincere regret passed over her face. Inuyasha was confused at this, seeing as she had been so eager to be 'out of his clutches' as she had put it.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

All of a sudden, Shippo came up beside him and looked at Jojo, smiling. Something in Jojo's face changed, and she looked behind her nervously.

"Actually you know what, Inuyasha? I think my movie is about to start. I have to go. Bye!" and with that, she ran off quickly, disappearing in the movie theater without a trace.

"Well that was rude." Shippo commented.

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

Kagome walked out of the door.

"Don't worry though, Mr. Taisho, as I told you the night before, we are on a strictly business level from now on. I have no intentions of putting my nose into your business. By all means, date! Get married. Ruin you son's life." Kagome yelled all except the last part. She almost whispered the last sentence. Inuyasha ears burned as anger swelled in through his stomach.

Kagome started to close the door, and as she did, Inuyasha noticed a single tear slide down her left cheek.

When the door was closed all the way, a stapler loudly bounced off of it. The loud bang against his door rang throughout the entire floor.

HOOHAW KAPA JINAW FELLWAPP ADU! (yes, the line is STILL broken)

Well wasn't that intense? Do you all totally hate me? OMG I was so shocked at the number of you that were bombing on Shippo last chapter. I was expecting SOME disappointments in him, but I was not, I repeat, WAS NOT, expecting to read:

Shippo is a bitch. Or.

Shippo should die.

WOW... not much to say at that...I was just really shocked.

BY ALL MEANS PEOPLE EXPRESS YOURSELVES! I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THAT! I WAS JUST SAYING HOW SHOCKED I WAS. I WASN'T UPSET!

Please review!


	13. Chapter 12

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi hi! I am very sorry for being late with this chapter! Revisions on my chapter plans were being shifted around, and I was busy adding and subtracting material from the story. I was also late because of major school stuff, and lost track of time! Sorry about that!

DISCLAIMER: nope, still not mine

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS CHAPTER IS ABOUT TWO MONTHS LATER FROM THE LAST CHAPTER!

Ch. 12- Moving on

Inuyasha relaxed. He didn't understand why he was getting so upset about this, all of that other stuff was over two months ago. He clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to calm down. He tried to forget what he'd seen earlier that day.

He felt a palm slide down his chest and he smiled as the woman next to him pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back lustfully, then she pulled back, and gave him a questioning look.

"What's been on your mind? You've been acting funny since we got home." she asked.

Inuyasha's eyes widened.

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK-

Inuyasha spotted Kagome three booths down from him. She hadn't noticed him yet, but he noticed her. She was all dolled up, dressed in a pretty cocktail dress, and her hair was pinned back. She was wearing _make up_. Judging by the number of times she looked at the clock, she was waiting for someone. She seemed to be waiting for...

'A date...' Inuyasha thought bitterly as he sipped his coffee.

The office had become awfully quiet, almost like they had never spoken to each other before. Kagome only talked to him when she had to, and him the same.

'Serves her right.' Inuyasha thought.

He doubted that they would never talk again, much less see each other outside of the office. And here she was, looking the way she did. She even seemed a bit nervous.

'She never wore make up around me...'

Inuyasha felt anger course through his veins when he saw her stand up quickly and jump into the arms of another man.

From where he sat, Inuyasha couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't even want to. He knew that it was a date. He could see Kagome's eyes as she sat down, smiling at the man. She looked...happy.

What was so great about that guy?

Inuyasha gave him the once over. He wasn't so great. So what he was a bit taller than himself? And he had long black hair. Inuyasha scoffed.

'He's just some other wannabe.'

He couldn't see the man's face, since he was facing the man's back.

He wasn't so great.

'Then why is she so damn happy to see him? I never got that look.'

He called the waitress over for the check. He'd seen enough. Kagome had moved on. So what? So had he!

As he left the restaurant he clicked on his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" came a soft voice.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh hey babe! I was just thinking about you. What're you up to?"

"Nothing. You coming over tonight? Shippo's got something he's doing with his friends."

"...Really? He won't be around?"

"Yeah. It'll just be us."

"Alright, babe. I'll be over."

"Great. See you."

Inuyasha felt his stomach churn as he hung up. Looking back in the window of the restaurant, he saw Kagome's face down in what seemed to be a modest blush. Inuyasha couldn't really tell; her hair was covering her face from that angle. But whatever it was, Inuyasha assumed that it was some sign of affection. 'The guy' was rubbing her hand.

"I don't care. I've found someone better." he said to himself.

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK-

"Nothing baby." Inuyasha said, and kissed her.

They were really getting into the kissed when the front door flung open. Shippo stomped inside, trying to get the snow off of his boots.

"Shippo!" Inuyasha asked from the couch as he broke away from the kiss.

Shippo passed the couple on the couch and went into the kitchen, not even acknowledging them.

"I thought you said he was out for the afternoon."

"I thought he was too." Inuyasha whispered back.

Shippo peeked his head around the wall. "We're out of hot chocolate."

Inuyasha didn't even get to reply before Shippo's head disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Wait here, Ami, I'll go see what's up with him."

Ami pulled his sleeve, trying to tug him back down. "Why don't you let me talk to him? Maybe he needs a woman's guidance."

The image of Kagome immediately flashed through Inuyasha's mind, and he shook his head to get rid of it.

"No, I'll do it. He's been acting like this for the past month."

Inuyasha walked in the kitchen and saw Shippo sitting on the table, sipping a mug of tea bitterly.

"Shippo get down. Table's for food, not your ass." Inuyasha scolded.

Shippo hopped off the table and started towards the door.

"Hold it."

He stopped and turned to look at his dad.

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"You came home early again...and you're having problems in school again. You barely talk to me anymore, and Kaede says she caught you skipping last week."

"Sorry. We ended our club meeting early today, and none of my friends wanted to go to the arcade so I just came home." Shippo said.

"That's fine. But do you want to tell me what else is going on?" Inuyasha asked.

"No...not really."

Inuyasha gave him a stern look.

Shippo took a long gulp of his tea and placed the empty mug in the sink.

"I changed my mind. I think I will go to the arcade...I'll leave you alone with Aki."

"–Ami."

"What?"

"It's Ami. You said Aki."

"Oh. Well I'll be back before dinner."

And with that, Shippo left the kitchen.

Inuyasha stood in his spot and shook his head. What was going on with that kid? Every time he was around, he was either sulking, or running out the door with something to do.

Inuyasha stepped back into the living room and sat on the couch.

Ami was reading something in her hand, and when he peered over her shoulder to see what it was, she crumpled it in her and stuck it in her pocket.

"I just remembered...I have to go do something..." Ami told him.

Inuyasha gave her a quizzical look. Ami gave him a quick kiss on the lips and put on her coat.

"I'll see you later." she said and stepped out of the door.

Inuyasha shook his head and turned on the television. 'I keep finding myself alone...' He thought.

---

Shippo shot the head off of a zombie, and the screen flashed yellow, signifying a 'game over'. He sighed and put the fake gun back in its original place, and walked away from the machine.

'Stupid dad...' he thought.

Shippo was disgusted at the amount of women that his dad was bringing home nowadays. Before, it wasn't so much, but now he was bringing a new one home almost every week! Not that Shippo really cared. He battled them all off one by one; it was like picking crumbs out of his teeth. They all left immediately after the first verbal warning, or the first 'date'.

Shippo scoffed. His dad didn't go on dates anymore. He just brought the women home and they stayed in his room all night. Usually they came in pretty late, and Inuyasha would peek his head into Shippo's room to check if he was asleep, but Shippo never was.

They were all easy to get rid of. Shippo had put his yellow box away, seeing as there was no challenge for him, and no reason for him to plan anything special.

He stood in front of a change machine and tried to place his dollar inside. The machine took it, but then spit the dollar back at him. Frustrated, he tried again only to get the same result.

"Shippo?"

Shippo turned and saw Kagome standing behind him.

"Hi! It's been a while." she smiled.

Shippo grunted his acknowledgment, then turned back to the machine.

"Here, let me help you." Kagome said.

When Shippo turned back to her, he noticed that she was wearing a change apron. She took his dollar and gave him back four quarters.

"Thanks." he mumbled.

"No prob." Kagome said.

She turned to leave.

"You...work here now?" Shippo asked.

"Yup. Just something to do on the side. I've had too much free-time lately, you know, gotta pay the bills."

"You don't still work for my dad?"

Kagome was quiet for a moment. "I still work for your dad. I just needed something else to do. I've had far too much time on my hands lately."

"Oh."

"...So how are you? How is everything going in school?"

Shippo shrugged.

"That bad, huh?"

"Well I don't feel like doing the work anymore. What's the point? Dad's never around to check my grades or anything anymore."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's always either at work, or out on one of his 'dates'." Shippo said bitterly.

Kagome thought for a minute. "Well, do you want your dad around?"

Shippo glared at her. She laughed.

"Easy, it was just a question. Tell him how you feel. He'll understand. Your dad's a good guy and all, he cares for you. He just doesn't know you that's all."

"Yeah...well...who asked you anyway?"

Kagome laughed. Shippo smiled a little.

"He wouldn't have time for me anyway. All these girls he keeps bringing home keep taking up everything."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "How many of them have you...?"

"All of them. It wasn't hard. They were mostly air heads and gold diggers."

"Yeah I can understand that."

"But there's this new girl, Ami, she won't leave! I gave her the verbal warning, and she told me I was attention deprived!"

Kagome laughed.

"Hey, it's not funny! She tries to be more of a 'Dr. Phil' than you!"

"Well, is she pretty?"

"Who cares? I hate her."

"Hmm. Well have you tried mixing peroxide in the shampoo?"

Shippo thought about it. "No...I never thought about that one!"

Kagome laughed. "You gotta make sure it's at the right moment. 'Cause if you miss her, you know who else is gonna end up with a funny hair color..."

Shippo thought long about it. Why didn't I ever think of that one?

"Higurashi! Stop socializing with the customers! Get back to work!"

Kagome turned around and blushed. "Sorry, gotta go. You take care."

When Kagome ran off, Shippo felt a headache coming on. 'What was that?' he wondered.

'Why was I so nice to her? I mean I don't have to be completely mean to her anymore now that she's not with dad anymore, but why was I so friendly?'

He sat down and played a driving game.

'And she didn't once ask about Dad. We only talked about him when I said something.'

Most ex's that had the courage to talk to him always asked about his dad. They would ask how his dad was, or what he was up to. Kagome didn't ask anything about Inuyasha. She only addressed him.

'You win' flashed on the screen, and Shippo entered his name into the high score column.

'It doesn't matter. Kagome's just a person now. She has nothing to do with my dad.'

---

Inuyasha was still on the couch when Shippo got back.

"How was the arcade?"

"It was alright."

"Good."

"Kagome works there..." Shippo blurted.

Inuyasha was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I know it's been a long time since we broke up...but I saying now that I'm sorry for pushing her in here..."

"Huh?"

"I thought maybe...she'd make a good mother for you. And she was a hard worker. I didn't really try to see her flaws..."

Shippo shrugged.

"Well we have Ami now."

"Yeah...Ami..."

"She's going to be a teacher, you know. She can help you with your school work. And she's a great cook..."

"Yeah.."

"And she likes you."

'Yeah right.' Shippo thought.

"She's a lot better than Kagome. She knows who she is, and she doesn't have to work five hundred jobs to keep herself busy.

Shippo shrugged again. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed."

"But it's only seven."

"Yeah. I'm real tired."

"Oh. Ok. Goodnight then."

"Night, Dad."

Shippo went up to his room and closed and locked the door.

Inuyasha sighed. 'Ami is definitely better.' he told himself.

He felt something hurt in his gut.

"Forget about her." he said.

The phone started ringing and before he picked it up, he told himself one more time that he was better off.

OKAY I KNOW THAT WASN'T THE BEST CHAPTER! DON'T HATE ME! IT WILL GET BETTER!


	14. Chapter 13

**REI'S CORNER: **Hi! I am terribly sorry for the month long wait you all had to endure! School is my only excuse! Yes I do have a life dear friends -.-. And it would have been a longer wait if some of my good reviewers (you know who you are) hadn't personally told me to get off my ass and get to work! So here I am! Apologies for the wait once again and any other wait coming in the future!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

And for those of you that read It's Cliche or You're My Princess, Kagome, I will get back to work with them once this story is finished. (Probably YMPK first because I like it better) This story is ALMOST FINISHED!!! Well, plot wise anyway, lol I may have some misc. stuff thrown in the story like an Epilogue or whatever, who knows? But I know that I've been cutting some of the previous chapters in half in order to make more chapters for those of you who like more chapters and shorter chapters. So I admit I was confused for a second when I was going through my notebook and all of chapter twelve was attached to chapter eleven. I had to go all the way back to my special notes and realize that I cut that chapter up and made the content of chapter 12 its own chapter lol! Guys, remind me never to such a long break again? I will probably do something more embarrassing next time...

BTW Someone asked if Inu had his doggy ears in this story, and I will say, once again lol, that no he doesn't. In all of my AU fics, unless otherwise mentioned, Inuyasha is a normal human, with silver hair and amber-colored eyes. Oh, and he has regular teeth too. '

DIS-CLAIM-A!!!!!! No, I don't own it. YO MAMA! Nope, it's not mine.

Chapter 13- Re-Un-ited

"Do I have to wear this?" Shippo whined as his father helped him tie the necktie around his collar.

"Yeah. Trust me, I don't wanna do this any more then you do. If it weren't for my own dad, we wouldn't be going."

"Well why do I have to go? I don't even know this guy!"

"Because he's your uncle, and my brother, and it's mandatory that siblings go to each other's weddings."

"He's not my sibling."

"Well we're both going, so quit your whining."

Shippo let out an exasperated sigh and buttoned his tux jacket. He didn't see why he had to go to some old guy's wedding. Supposedly his uncle, yet he'd never even met the guy!

"We'll all go out to a movie afterward. I'll make it up to you." Inuyasha bargained.

"We all?"

"Yeah. Ami's coming. We're picking her up as soon as we get out there, and we're already late, so get your shoes on and lets go."

Shippo's eyes narrowed as he went to tie his shoes.

This would be an interesting ceremony.

* * *

"And with this ring, I thee wed..."

Inuyasha felt absolutely miserable.

His feet ached from the annoying new shoes he got, his neck was itching from the damned tie, and Ami's hair was irritating him while it rubbed against his cheek as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Inuyasha wanted to punch someone.

Why was Sesshomaru getting married? The man was always cold, and cruel to anyone that ever crossed his path! Who in their right minds would want to wake up to see _that_ everyday for the rest of their life?

Why could Sesshomaru find happiness and love where he, Inuyasha, could not? What kind of sick twisted world was this?

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." said the priest as everyone in the audience began to clap.

"What a beautiful dress." Ami whispered to him.

Inuyasha nodded to Ami, not really caring about what the bride's dress looked like.

'Damn Sesshomaru.'

* * *

It was a very happy reception. The music was classy and easy to dance to, the tables were nicely set, everything was perfect.

Inuyasha felt sick to his stomach.

Ami tightened her arms around his neck as they slow danced. She had been talking about some mindless thing that Inuyasha really didn't give a care about. Inuyasha just really wanted this all to be over with. He wasn't completely sure why he felt so crummy, yet he did. And right now, with Ami whispering in his ear and the 'beautiful' music playing in the background, and the perfectly set mood, he felt extremely irritated.

And all of that increased ten fold when he saw none other than Kagome Higurashi walk by and sit down at a circled table near the DJ's table.

What was she here for? Had she come just for the purpose of making his life even more miserable than it already was? He glanced over at Shippo, trying to get his mind off of her.

Shippo flicked his spoon and little speckles of butter landed in Ami's hair a few feet away. 'This is boring.' he thought to himself. He hated being here in this tie, he hated being here with all of these happy people. He really hated being here.

'I'd rather be doing my homework.' he sighed.

Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore. He was frustrated and he needed some sort of release. The song ended and he told Ami he'd be right back. He sneaked over to where Kagome's table was, and watched her silently for a moment.

She looked bored, or sad. He wasn't sure. She had a look on her face that he couldn't quite decipher.

In his silent watching, Kagome had turned her head and caught sight of him.

"Mr. Taisho! W-what are you doing here?" she exclaimed.

Inuyasha scoffed. "That's my question."

Kagome looked down and started fumbling with the tablecloth.

-FLASHBACK-

Kagome looked down at the small diner table and sighed. He was late, and she was nervous out of her mind. She'd entered about twenty minutes earlier, not sure if he was still the same old tight-lip. Being twenty minutes earlier to everything.

'Gosh I hope I didn't over dress...' Kagome thought.

"Well look at you, Higurashi."

Kagome gasped and jumped up, running into the arms of the man.

"Wow, Sesshomaru...you look great! I mean...really..good."

"As do you, Kagome." He gave her a tiny smile.

"I ordered some coffee, if that's alright with you." she said.

"It's fine. But tell me, how are doing? It's been two years. You must have some news for me."

Kagome smiled at him earnestly.

"It's well, the same old me...I'm working now..."

"Oh? What is it that you do?"

"Well, I'm a personal assistant to a corporate executive, and I do some little jobs on the side...you know, to keep me busy and all."

"Really? That's great for you." Sesshomaru told her.

"Yeah. I just wish I'd done it sooner..."

Sesshomaru sensed where she was headed, and remembered what he'd told her that night before he left her.

-THIS IS A FLASHBACK...WITHIN A FLASHBACK HAHAHAHAHA-

"Actually Kagome, I decided that we aren't right together. You happen to be just a little too free and laid back for me."

"W-what? What are you saying?"

"When are you going to grow up? You can't expect that we are going work. I mean we're complete opposites."

"But opposites attract..."

"Kagome, you have no job, you live in some dinky old apartment, and your mother pays your rent! You are twenty-two years old! When are you going to act like it?"

"I have a job..."

"What you do at the library is not a job! Open your pretty eyes and grow up for once! You aren't going to get anywhere at the rate you're going...and I don't want you to drag me down with you..."

"Wait! What are you-"

"Goodbye, Kagome. Good luck."

"Please don't go! I'll grow up...I...please!"

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASH BACK MY FIRST ATTEMPT-

"Kagome...I'm sorry for the things I said to you then..."

"No...no. You were absolutely right."

"I was an insensitive bastard then...I'm different now. I realize the pain I've caused you..."

Kagome looked down at her lap, trying not to let the welling tears escape.

"Kagome...I asked you here today to tell you that...I'm getting married."

Kagome's head jerked up and her eyes widened. "M-married?" she questioned.

"Yes. To a wonderful woman named Rin. I met her last year...she's changed me somehow. I don't understand how, but, I know that I really love her. And I want you to be at my wedding."

Kagome's eyes returned to her lap as the tears started to fall slowly. "W-why me?" she asked him.

Sesshomaru reached over and rubbed her hand. "You don't realize how important you are to us. If it weren't for you, Kagome, I would have never met Rin. And because of you I realized how much of a jerk I was. And Rin helped me change. I want you to know how much you mean to me. To us."

Kagome sniffed and nodded her head, understanding what he was saying a little bit.

"Will you come?" Sesshomaru asked her gently.

"Of course." she sniffled again then wiped at her tears. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Sesshomaru smiled at her and tugged her around the table for a hug.

'This is how it used to be.' Kagome thought. 'Sesshomaru, I wish you happiness...'

-THAT WAS A FLASHBACK (hehe sorry is the fb within the fb confused you. We are switching back to normal time now.)

"Another job?" Inuyasha threw at her.

Kagome snapped out of her daze and shook her head.

"N-no! I was invited here!"

"Oh yeah right!"

"I was!--"

"Ah, Inuyasha. I see you two have met."

Both turned to see Sesshomaru standing behind them with a smug look on his face. He leaned over and kissed Kagome on the cheek.

"Having fun, Kagome?" he asked.

Kagome nodded. "Congratulations by the way." she smiled up at him.

Inuyasha was confused. How the hell were those two so comfy with each other?

"Wait a minute. How do you two know each other?" Inuyasha asked.

Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha. "That's just like you Inuyasha, charming up a girl without even asking anything about her."

Inuyasha's face turned red.

"This is Kagome. We used to date. Kagome, this is Inuyasha, my little brother."

Both Kagome, and Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"You never told me you had a brother..."

"Yes, well, half-brothers anyway. He took on father's last name, and I took my mother's..."

"Um...that doesn't really explain why you never told me..."

"Hmph. Well if he were your brother, you wouldn't claim him either."

Kagome almost fell into a fit of laughter, while Inuyasha started snarling at him. Sesshomaru then swore he heard his new bride calling him and decided to take his leave.

"It was...nice...to see you again little brother. Ten years _is _a long time. You'll come to dinner one day." Sesshomaru stated then left.

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome.

"You were dating my brother." he growled out.

"Well, it's not like I knew he was your brother. You two don't look alike or anything. He has black hair..."

"That's all bull. He had hair like mine. He must've dyed it."

"Ok, well. Anyway, it was before I met you, so I don't see what you're so upset over."

Kagome turned her nose the other way in an attempt to ignore the obviously-not- having-a-good-day man.

"Dad, can we go now? This is really boring." Shippo said.

Inuyasha turned and saw Shippo behind him, with Ami hot on his tail.

'Ami...' Inuyasha thought. Something in Inuyasha snapped. He didn't know what made him blurt out his next words. Maybe it was because Kagome was there, and needed to be shown that he could go on without her. Maybe it was a spur of the moment decision. Or maybe he just went plum crazy.

"Ami, marry me!" he blurted out.

Kagome, shocked as anything, turned around and almost fell out of her chair as another young woman stopped in her place, also shocked at Inuyasha's words.

Her shock wore of rather quickly and she jumped into his arms kissing him openly all over his face.

"Oh yes! Yes, I will!"

Kagome shook her head and looked to where Shippo was standing. He was looking at the ground in shear horror and anger. His young fists were balled up by his sides as Ami gushed on and on about how she'd hoped he would ask. Inuyasha also looked happy. Kagome felt bad for Shippo.

She decided then that she needed a drink, and slipped away from the area.

'I can't do anything. It's none of my business.' she chanted in her head as she walked away.

SPACE SPACE SPACE SPACE

Kagome was leaving the reception room as was everyone else. She had to hurry to the bus stop so that she could get home before it was late. She walked quickly out of the building, brushing by people.

As she reached the cold outdoors, she caught Inuyasha frantically looking around for something, and Ami sitting in the car on her cell phone.

Kagome didn't see Shippo.

She knew the answer already, but for some reason, her feet walked over to the stressed couple.

"Mr. Taisho?"

Inuyasha angrily threw some unidentifiable object at someone else's car and made the alarm go off.

"What is it?" she asked, very well knowing the answer.

"He's gone! Dammit Shippo where the hell are you?!!" Inuyasha yelled out into the darkness.

Kagome gasped, wishing that she hadn't been right. She knew this was coming deep down, and she'd done nothing to prevent it... 'Wait...this isn't my fault. This has nothing to do with me.' she told herself.

But when she went to turn and walk away, she found that she couldn't.

The point was that Shippo had gone missing.

Inuyasha was hysterical and he was too blinded by his own shock and frustration that he wouldn't get anything accomplished.

Kagome knew she had to do something.

"SHIPPO!!!!!!!!!!" Inuyasha screamed loudly.

* * *

GWEE! Hope you liked that piece of drama!!!

Now I definitely know that I've been gone for far too long! THE SPACE THINGY WORKS!!!


	15. Chapter 14

**REI'S CORNER:** Hi everyone, I know y'all are probably mad at me for taking so long to update. But lets be honest, not a whole lot of people do when it's the school year. I have college and stuff to think about. NOT that I'm saying all that's more important than my writing. I'm just saying that I have to make sure I'm on top of my game before I take off for writing. I love writing for you guys, nothing makes me more happy than to see reviews saying I've written a chapter well. So don't be mad, ok?

NOTE 4/16/07- THIS CHAPTER WOULD HAVE SOOOO BEEN UP THURSDAY HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE SERVER ISSUE ON THE NETWORK BUT WHATEVER.

I know for a fact that this story is coming to an end soon, and I am going to start another story. I am currently still writing the sequel to my Sess/Kag story, "And into his Lap". That story should be out sometime soon. And the new story that I'm writing you can look forward to sometime during or just before the summer. As for my other stories, I think that I'm going to take down 'You're my Princess, Kagome' for some 'tweaking' and I think I'm going to take down 'Walk Behind Me'. I KNOW THAT I PROMISED TO FINISH THAT ONE BUT LETS FACE IT, I HATE THAT STORY...BUT I WILL FINISH IT IF ANYONE REALLY WANTS ME TO. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT STORY END FINISHED, PLEASE TELL ME, AND I WILL TAKE IT DOWN FOR TWEAKING AND RE-RELEASE IT!

I think that's all the news that I have for you all. I probably forgot something, if I did I'll just put it at the end because I know that you're just wanting to read It's Dad Stuff about now .

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim Inuyasha and all aspects of it. Thank You.

Chapter 14- The Absolute Truth

Kagome released all of the internal struggle she had, and slowly reached over and placed her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Mr. Taisho, you're going to have to calm down. I'll help you look, he couldn't have gone very far, the reception didn't let out but a few minutes ago. How about you take all this area, and I'll go search the bus stations and around there?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at her hand on his shoulder. Who did she think she was, a cop?

Ami had her eyes glued to Kagome's hand also. She gave a very snippy look to Kagome, but it went unseen. Half-heartedly, she nodded. "That actually sounds like a good idea, Inuyasha. _We _will take this area and she can go look over there, in case he took a bus or something."

Kagome resisted the urge to slap the woman. She just said that. And was that jealousy she was detecting? How dare this woman try to start a petty fight over a man when Shippo was missing?

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulder, making Kagome's hand drop back to her side. "You know what, why don't **you** mind your own business?!" he shouted at Kagome. "Shippo is **my **son, he lives in** my **house, and he's under **my** custody. **You **have nothing to do with us, remember? **You **called it quits on **us**! **You **are just my secretary now and you need to learn your place!"

Kagome jerked back as if she'd been slapped in the face. Inuyasha looked unapologetic as he took Ami's hand and began to walk away, shouting Shippo's name.

She felt her ears begin to burn, and her face was turning red. She was infuriated. She could not believe he would say something like that to her!

'I've had it!' her mind screamed. She reached down and yanked off her heels, before stomping over to Inuyasha.

Instead of tapping him on the shoulder, like any normal person would, she gave him a very painful smack with the exact part of her shoe that held the heel. Inuyasha uncharacteristically yelped out, holding his bruised shoulder. "What the hell?!"

That was all he got out before Kagome let him having it.

Shoving the toe of her heel directly at his chest, she let angry and agitated tears leak from her eyes.

"You know I am sick and tired of your horrible parenting! Yes, Shippo is **your **son!" She yelled, angrily mocking his speech from earlier. "He is in **your **custody! That means he is** your **responsibility, and it is **your **job to be watching over him and making sure he's okay above everything else: your job, your dates, your girlfriend! He was here first, and he is always going to be first! He will always be your son! Girlfriends will come and go! Dammit, he's been trying to make it clear to you that he does not _want_ a new mother! Stop pushing him just because it's **you** that's lonely! I am your secretary. I know my place. And it is most definitely not hanging around some arrogant, egotistical, lame..."

"Hey! You can't talk to him like that!"

Kagome stopped her rampage and looked to Inuyasha's side at the girl who was standing under his arm. She narrowed her eyes dangerously and the girl quickly closed her mouth.

"Listen you, you think you can go around, entering people's lives like you belong there? You have _no_ idea what it's like trying to grow up and have someone try to take away someone who's supposed to be there for you! You don't know what it's like to have to listen to, 'sorry kiddo, I can't go out with you tonight, I've got a date.' or 'this is for the good of our family, you'll see.' when you know it's not! So you just sit there and be quiet!"

Ami's face was red with embarrassment. "W-who do you think you are?!"

Inuyasha lifted his hand to quiet her.

"And you do?" he asked with a smirk on his face. "You know what Shippo's going through? How dare you speak to my fiancee like that. I think it would be best that you run home before you say something else you regret."

Kagome gave an unamused dry chuckle.

"Regret? I have not said anything that I regret. I **do **know what Shippo's going through, and I'll be damned if I stand here and let you tell me otherwise. You think you're so smooth, Mr. Taisho, you think you hurt me when you flaunt your _fiancee_ around in my face. You make me sick. While you're busy trying to hurt me, you've hurt the only person who really matters. I couldn't care less if you married this woman."

She felt something painfully drop in her stomach at that moment. But she pressed on, knowing that she had to stay strong for her own pride's sake.

"You don't even know your own son. I want nothing to do with a man who would put a woman before his flesh and blood." she sneered before backing away. "I'm going to look for him whether you want me to or not. I don't' care anymore. And with that, she turned and ran off.

Inuyasha winced at the pain on his shoulder.

"What a bitch." Ami said.

Inuyasha sighed and shrugged it off. "Lets just find Shippo."

"Right."

Inuyasha didn't know where to start, so they went across the street, near a park, and called his name into the night.

"This isn't working," Ami told him, "Can't you call his friends? Maybe they know where he is."

And that's when it hit him.

-COMPILATION OF FLASHBACKS!-

"Bye dad! I'm going out with my friends!"

"Okay don't be gone too long!"

--

"Dad, I'm going to the arcade. My friends are gonna be there."

"That's great, I've got a date this evening, so be home before seven."

"Okay."

--

"_You don't even know your own son."_

--

"Hey dad, can I go over to a friend's house?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure."

--

"Hey! Where's this son I've been hearing so much about?"

"He's at a friends house tonight, Olivia. You'll meet him next time."

"Oh really? Wow, isn't it a school night? You must know the parents very well."

"The parents? Right, great people..." he lied.

--

"_You don't even know your own son."_

-END COMPILATION OF FLASHBACKS-

"Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha shook his head.

"She was right."

"What? Honey I was just--"

"No she was right! I _don't_ know my own son! I don't know his friends...I don't know where he goes to hang out! I-I don't know him at all. I'm a bad father..."

Ami touched his arm, "You're just upset right now, don't worry I'm sure we'll find him."

He yanked his arm away.

"Don't you see?! It's my fault he's run away! If I hadn't of...If I were...Dammit!" he yelled and ran off, screaming Shippo's name more desperately.

'I'm sorry, Shippo.'

--

"Shippo! You here?!" Kagome called.

She'd searched at least five bus stations and looked into countless alleyways. She had no luck so far. Shippo wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Shippo!"

'Think Kagome, think. Where could he be? If I were upset about my father proposing to some lady I hated, where would I go? Where would I go?'

-FLASHBACK-

Kagome peaked over the edge of the roof top at the kissing couple. She felt angry tears wash over her cheeks. 'Why does Mama always forget about me? What did I do?'

-END FLASHBACK-

"Rooftop!" she yelled out.

Hopping back on the bus, Kagome hoped and prayed that she and Shippo were more alike than anyone would want to believe.

'Please let him be alright.'

--

Kagome peaked at the top of the house that Inuyasha and Shippo currently reside in. "S-shippo?" she called up.

No answer.

She looked around, and checked in their little tool shed in the back. "Bingo!" she cried out as she lifted a ladder and ran with it back to the other side of the house.

She started climbing the ladder, wincing as the cold metal scraped her feet.

"Don't worry, Shippo, I'm coming." she called up.

"It's gonna be alright, I promise."

She climbed and climbed, and when she reached the top, she hesitated before looking about the roof.

"Shippo?"

He wasn't there. Kagome sighed and sat atop the roof, frustrated. Apparently she thought they were more alike than they actually were.

"Dammit" she whispered. "What do I do now?"

--

Inuyasha was at the end of his nerve. Ami probably already left, and he had been searching for over an hour now. He couldn't find Shippo anywhere. He walked the long way back to his car at the reception's parking lot.

Shippo wasn't there.

Inuyasha hopped in the car and slammed the door shut. The horn beeped loudly as he leaned his head on the steering wheel.

"Shippo, where are you?" he asked aloud.

He sighed and leaned back, looking at the night sky. They looked they same as when he'd gone camping with Shippo. Feeling pain shoot through him, he closed his eyes and started the engine.

'This is all my fault.' Inuyasha thought lowly.

Opening his eyes, he started driving home, he figured that he would call up Kaede and see if she were home and maybe ask her to help look.

Yeah, that's what he would do.

--

Kagome let another sob out as her feet swung gently over the edge of the house. Why did things always have to be so difficult? She never wanted to get caught up in this big mess. Why had she said yes to Inuyasha, when she knew that nothing good could ever come out of dating your boss.

'I didn't care. I liked him.' she told herself.

She sniffled again.

She could have stayed happy, working all of her jobs and not worrying about ever being hurt again, by the original heartbreaker's brother, no less. But she had to go and...fall for this man and his kid.

Things were always so complicated.

"Hey!"

Kagome jumped out of her skin, almost losing her balance and falling off of the roof. She caught herself before toppling over the edge, yelping out.

Shaking from the fear of falling, she looked down and saw a red-faced Shippo looking up at her.

"What are you doing up there?" he called.

"Shippo?"

"No duh." Shippo began climbing up the ladder.

"Where have you been?! Everyone's been looking for you!"

Shippo rolled his eyes. "Yeah and that's why I hear the police sirens and helicopters. What do you want?"

Kagome gave him a dirty look. "I was scared for you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not hurt."

"Well I know that now...I just...argh!"

Kagome gave up and let a silence wash over them. She looked up and noticed the beautiful sky above. Shippo was already looking up, kicking the ladder softly.

"Was my dad looking?" he broke the silence.

"What? Of course he was!"

"I would've thought he was busy getting married or something."

Kagome nodded, understanding where he was coming from.

"You're dad's a jerk." she stated.

"Hey, watch it, that's my dad you're talking about." Shippo warned half-heartedly.

Kagome smirked.

"What?" Shippo asked.

"Nothing. Just wondering why you're acting like such a _girl_."

Shippo scoffed. "I am not."

"Boohoo don't talk about my daddy like that."

"Shut up"

"Shut up"

"I'm not playing!"

"I'm not playing!"

"Grow up."

Kagome stopped repeating him. Shippo glanced over at her, wondering if he'd hurt her feelings.

"You know, I've been hearing that a lot lately." she started. "I guess I finally understand what they're saying when it comes from you."

"What?"

"I've always acted like a child. I guess cause when I was younger, like you sort of, my mom was always around dating guys and I was all alone. I never really did grow up because I didn't have anyone to show me how. She would rather go out on a date than take me anywhere."

Shippo raised an eyebrow.

"Long story." she chuckled. "I'll spare you."

Shippo looked at her face.

"Why are you so nice to me all the time. Don't you know I hate you?"

Kagome laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it's because we're alike."

Shippo scrunched up his face. "I am _not_ like you."

Kagome laughed again. "Alright, if you say so."

All of a sudden they saw Inuyasha's car pull into the driveway. He hadn't noticed them sitting there on the roof. Shippo looked down at the man in his car, looking stressed out and tired, and the kicked the ladder hard. It fell to the ground and hit the grass with a loud thud.

"Why'd you do that?" Kagome asked.

Shippo shrugged.

Inuyasha, who somehow didn't hear the noise, opened the car door and slowly rose from the seat.

"Don't you want to tell your dad you're here?"

"No. Not really."

"But you do realize that we don't have a way to get down, and you're stuck up here with me?"

Shippo shrugged.

"That bad, huh?"

He shrugged again.

"Well I think you should talk to him."

"And why do you think that?"

"Hmm. Because it'll make us different." she said as Inuyasha moved painstakingly slow across the front yard.

"How?" Shippo asked.

"Well I never talked to my mom about how her boyfriends bugged me. I just played tricks on them, made them all go away. Then got mad when she brought new ones home, and started it all over again. In the end, I guess she was just as unhappy as I was, and I had to move out."

"So?"

"_So_ if you talk to you dad, not only will you possibly work this whole thing out, but you can prove me wrong and make us very different from each other."

Shippo's eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called just as he was opening the front door.

Startled, he looked around, wondering where the voice had come from.

"Up here!"

He looked up and spotted Kagome, with Shippo on the roof. A huge tsunami of relief washed over him, and he thought right then he would cry.

"Shippo." he said aloud.

Shippo was still in thought, but when his dad called to him, he snapped out of it.

"Hey, you mind pushing that ladder up so we can get down?" Kagome interrupted.

Inuyasha, still in a bit of shock, followed her request, and in return climbed up the ladder, joining the other two on the roof.

Shippo looked very reluctant to speak.

"Well I'm gonna go." Kagome stated softly, not looking him in the eye.

She crawled over to the ladder and started to descend. About the third step down she felt hands go over her own and she stopped moving, knowing it was Inuyasha. She didn't look up to meet his gaze. She felt tears start to form in her eyes.

"Kagome..."

"Mr. Taisho." she said.

"I..." Inuyasha started, not really sure how to get the words out.

Kagome knew that it all had to end here. She could no longer be a part of this drama, and wanted to regain her control over her life again. So she took the final step in being rid of the pain.

"I think it's best if I step down from my position, ...sir.' she breathed out hesitantly. "My resignation letter will be on your desk first thing in the morning and I will be out of you office by lunch."

Shocked, Inuyasha released Kagome's hands. "What? Why?" he sputtered out.

He was too late though, because by the time he got it out, she was already down the ladder and beginning her walk to the bus station.

'Kagome, why? Can't you see I wanted to apologize?' his mind questioned.

As she walked away, he felt a part of him leave with her, he felt upset, and torn. Almost like the day his beloved Kikyo left him. Yet, he felt it stronger, and knew immediately that he'd made a big mistake.

"Dad?"

Inuyasha turned and saw Shippo staring at him.

"Can we talk?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha briefly looked back at the direction Kagome walked in.

'I love her' his mind said.

He looked back over to Shippo, happy that he was safe at home, and not out wandering the crime infested streets. Inuyasha ruffled his hair and smiled softly.

"Yeah, of course. Lets talk." he said and sat down.

--

Ok this chapter's done! I know you fluffy romantics hate me right now but guess what? I think that this is VERY necessary. Why would Kagome stay and keep working for him? He causes her lots of trouble and pain. So there.

WOW 10 pages! Awesome! Hopefully the next chapter will be longer but I dunno.

Anyways I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I will try to have the next one out ASAP ok? But like I said before, school and all that so I dunno.

Stay sweet guys! Oh and please review if you gots any questions about the chapter or whatever!


	16. Chapter 15

**REI'S CORNER: **Ahhhh! I'm not dead, I promise! I know that I told some of you that I would be updating more but stuff came up I shall explain that in a moment! WOW it's been like forever since I've updated and I know that you are all very angry with me!!! It's been what? YEARS?!?!?!!?! Well I surely and most sincerely do hope that my absence has not caused me to lose any precious readers, even though I can only expect such…. I know that a lot of the same cool people that used to like LIVE on this site, including myself, don't come anymore. But I am back now! And for those of you who are loyal readers of mine, I thank you very very much for giving this lowly poor excuse for a writer a second……third……….fourth(????) chance!!!!! And for those of you who are new, I welcome you whole-heartedly and hope you like my stuffs.

Something-teen Reasons ( Slash Excuses) why I have been gone…

1. I'm growing up and getting ready to start a new life, college and all that, very stressful.

2. My boyfriend occupies my mind 20/7.….I sleep the other hours when he's not in my dreams. But now we are having minor issues so…good for the readers I guess --;

3. Change in religion(?)

4. Hard classes

5. MY EFFING COMPUTER DIED RETARDEDLY AND I ENDED UP HAVING WAIT TO GET A NEW ONE.

6. I had to wait for my sissy to transfer all my files to my new puter (grateful that that was possible though!!!!)

7. I'm a lazy ass

8. I got an obsession for reading fiction press and media miner and temporarily forgot existed…..yeah….no comment…

9. I got an obsession for watching Korean Drama and "…".

10. Disturbing crumbling of my family.

11. I was hungry

12. I was too fat

13. I wanted to play my new video games

14. My mom hates me

15. Life is poopy sometimes

16. I needed new shoes.

17. I have to do community service and extra-curriculars because I want colleges to like me.

18. VISTA IS SOOOOOOO STOOPID it is the bane of my existence and has delayed me about 3 hours from updating, which means its been wah year, 3 hours…..since…..ah whatever…

BUT ALAS, I LOVE MY REVIEWERS AND READERS VERY MUCH AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE COME BACK!!! AND I PLAN ON CLEANING SOME STUFF UP WITH MY OTHER STORIES, GET THEM BACK ON TRACK, AND I HAVE A NEW STORY!!! GASP I KNOW, I KNOW, FINISH WHAT YOU HAVE FIRST. I WILL. I PROMISE.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO PM-ED ME TO GET OFF MY LAZY BUM AND DO SOME WRITING. IT TOOK A LONG TIME BUT I HAVE DONE WRITING AND I HOPE YOU ALL FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

So I guess I'd better get on with the story so that you don't hate me more sob

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim Inuyasha and all aspects of it. Thank You.

Chapter 15- Sorry

"So let me get this straight. You called her ex-husband and told him that she was pregnant with his baby?"

"Yup."

"May I even ask if he believed you or not?"

"Well, did you ever see her again?"

Inuyasha thought about it. He'd gone through so many women in the past few years, this particular one he wasn't so sure that he could remember. He thought hard, and finally remembered that he hadn't seen that woman again. She's merely called him and explained that things weren't working out and that she'd reconciled with her ex-husband. Strange people these days…

Inuyasha chuckled, "You've done some pretty interesting things these past few years, son."

They both had a nice laugh after that was said. There was no longer anger and hostility between them. There was no longer the confusion of the other, or the misunderstandings. They were simply father and son, happy to have talked it all out like men, and put the past behind them.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for ruining you love life…"

Inuyasha looked at Shippo, who was sitting in front of him on the living room sofa. It had been such a long time since they'd been on level ground. Inuyasha wondered why he was so hard-headed before; what took him so long to realize the mistakes he was making?

"No. Don't say you're sorry. This is all my fault. If I'd stopped and paid attention to how you were responding, we wouldn't be here having this conversation right now. I'm the one who is sorry for pushing you so hard about the mom thing. I just thought that you would be happier with a mom and a dad," Inuyasha grumbled, "I just wish you would have talked to me sooner, and maybe not have scared away the entire female population of the whole city…"

Shippo snapped his fingers. "That bum was right?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Bum?"

"The Higurashi chick. She said that I should just talk to you--don't tell her that I did it because she said to though! She said that it would make everything work out between us. And, hey, I guess this means that I'm different from her after all."

As Inuyasha pondered what on Earth it was he was talking about, Shippo chuckled to himself. 'Take that, Kagome.'

"Wow, it's three in the morning," Shippo pointed out. Inuyasha turned his head and caught a glimpse of the time also.

"No kidding. Well I guess we better head off to bed. Unless there's anything else you wanted to talk about…?"

Shippo shook his head, "Uh-uh, no way. This emotional stuff is a little too much for one night. I'm going to bed."

Inuyasha laughed and they both got up to head for their bedrooms. After climbing the stairs, they each said goodnight and opened their doors, stepping inside. Before closing his, Shippo called out to his father.

"Oh yeah, and dad?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Don't tell her I said this, but that Kagome chick is a lot more fun to push around than that new snobby you've got."

Inuyasha was shocked. Was Shippo saying that for once, he actually liked a woman that he'd dated? Shippo closed his door behind him, the light clicking off shortly after, but Inuyasha just stood there, wondering what to do next.

'A lot more fun to push around than the new snobby, huh?' Inuyasha asked himself.

He already new what he had to do. He had to set things right with Kagome, make her listen to him and sit down with him and Shippo to talk things back over. Shippo actually liked her! Well, at least he liked her better than Ami. That was a start, wasn't it?

And speaking of Ami…

Inuyasha finally closed his bedroom door and strode over to his nightstand. Picking up the cordless phone, he dialed in Ami's apartment number. She picked up on the third ring, loud and awake, despite the time.

"Inuyasha? Hey! I just got off the phone with Mama and Papa, and they agreed to help pay for the wedding! Can you believe that, it's like a dream come true! I thought that after paying for my sister's wedding, and then later my brother's divorce fees, they would be a bit reluctant, but I whined and pleaded, and well you know how the baby always gets her way!" she exclaimed in a sing-song voice.

Inuyasha felt his eyebrows furrow. What the hell?

"Oh…well I just was calling to let you know that I found Shippo and that--"

"Shippo! Oh yes, the dear. Is he alright? He didn't get into any trouble did he?" Ami interrupted, seemingly just remembering that Shippo was lost in the first place.

"You know my papa is the head of his attorney building, I'm sure if he's in any legal trouble he will get him out of it…"

"Erm, no that won't be necessary," Inuyasha said quickly. What was with this chick?

"Shippo's fine, we just talked and I decided to call to say--"

"I'm so happy he's fine! I was just now looking on the internet for wedding attire and I found the most adorable little tux for him! I know that he's short for his age so this particular tux would be a perfect fit!"

Fed up, Inuyasha fisted the phone's invisible cord and yelled out, "Ami! Dammit! Shut the hell up and listen for a minute!"

It worked. She definitely shut the hell up.

Inuyasha sighed, tired of dealing with drama and simply tired because it was almost three-thirty in the morning. He had to be at work in the morning. Possibly early so that he could get a hold of Kagome and stop her from leaving. He had to make this quick so he could get some shut eye.

"Look, Ami, we need to talk…"

* * *

It was a bright day. The sun was shining without a cloud anywhere near to block its way. Inuyasha stretched his legs out as he stepped out of his car.

This was the day. The day to fix things: set things right with Kagome, try and mediate between Kagome and Shippo, get back the happiness in his life.

Looking at the building ahead of him, he grinned and finished drinking his morning coffee. He'd gotten up a half-hour early, knowing that Kagome would probably try and escape before he barely had a chance to stick his foot in the door.

There was no way that he was going to let her go again. He knew that she was the one, and he intended to make her his wife eventually, of course with Shippo allowing it. He would work on that. Shippo would hopefully come around sooner or later. If not, he didn't seem to mind waiting for six or seven years for Shippo to go off to college. He realized, finally, that it didn't matter how long it took for him and Kagome to be together, as long as it eventually happened. Strange how absence makes the heart grow fonder…

Shippo couldn't always chase her away!

Inuyasha chuckled as he made his way up to his floor. As the elevator dinged, he took a deep breath. This was it. The doors opened and he took a step out towards his future.

And was completely devastated at what welcomed him.

An empty desk, void of Kagome and all of her little tinker toys that she kept around it. All that remained there was a yellow slip of lined paper on the top. He looked around, expecting to see a box, with Kagome next to it preferably, but no such luck. She was gone.

Inuyasha angrily kicked at the wall next to him, denting it slightly. He was too late! Even though he had come early, he was still too late! Kagome was gone and what did she leave behind? Nothing! Nothing but a…

Inuyasha reached over and picked up the piece of paper. He read it slowly, scared of what it might say, yet already knowing what it would say…

_**Mr. Taisho,**_

_** I decided to come in last night while the office was still open and get my stuff. The resignation letter is on your desk as I promised. Don't worry, I've already lined up interviews of new assistants for you. Your first interview is at 11. Don't worry about my final paycheck, and all of your paperwork for the day is at the front desk. Other than that, anything else you might need is no longer my problem.**_

_**Kagome Higurashi**_

As Inuyasha finished reading the letter, he laughed bitterly. That girl. Even when she'd quit, she'd still ended up doing her job. He couldn't believe that it was all over.

Inuyasha began to crumble up the note, but stopped and gently placed it in his pocket. He turned to go back down the elevator and retrieve his day's work that Kagome already had prepared for him.

"Goodbye Kagome." he said as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

OKAY Wow, sorry if that was too short but I that's all that was meant to happen here. You'll just have to wait until next week to find out what happens! So sad, aint it?

If you want to review and yell at me for taking so long, please do so now….Otherwise, thanks for reading and I will start typing the next chapter so that I can try and avoid another possible year gap update. SORRRRRYYYY.


	17. Chapter 16

**REI'S CORNER:** Hello my loyal readers! Yes, I am a day late, and I do apologize for hat, but it is much better than a YEARS wait, no? Don't I will not be late next week because it's Spring Break!! I don't really have much to say this go around. But thanks to all of you who reviewed with support, I greatly appreciate it! 

**NOTE**: If you are a RENT-head, could you please contact me? It would be nice to have new Rent-head friends. I am thinking about starting a Rent story, but that wouldn't be in production for a while because of the new Inuyasha stories I'm putting out after It's Dad Stuff. Plus I've got my old stories to pick back up so bear with me, okay? But yes, if you are a Rent-head, please do contact me if you want to be my friend!!

Thanks.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim Inuyasha and all aspects of it. Thank You.

Chapter 16- No More

A scrawny figure pressed against the glass of a small corporate business building. Inside he saw the person he'd been tracking for a month and a week. Well, more like following around than tracking. He never really lost track of her; it wasn't hard to find someone who worked in just about a million different places.

He watched as Kagome Higurashi answered phone calls behind her big receptionist's desk. She looked like she was comfortable doing her job, which was fumbling with his plans. 

-FLASHBACK-

"-And this morning after Kagome quit, I decided that I'm not going to date anymore. I should spend time doing what she'd told me to do in the first place." Inuyasha announced.

"What's that?" Shippo asked, pouring ketchup on his French fries.

"Getting to know my son."

It was quiet for a moment, while they both ate their fast food. 

"But what about Kagome? Don't you like her?" 

"I do. I really do. But I made a mistake, and she probably won't ever speak to me again."

Shippo rose an eyebrow. "You're not even going to try?"

Inuyasha looked down and grumbled, then said, "No. I lost my chance with her. I made my mistake and now I gotta live with the consequences."

Shippo rolled his eyes. How pathetic. "Dad do you love that chick?"

Inuyasha looked up, shocked. "Well, you see, you wouldn't understand until you get older that things get complic--"

"Do you love Higurashi?" Shippo interrupted.

"I, well...yes. I do." 

"So what exactly is the problem?"

"Hey, wait! When exactly did I start getting love advice from a prepubescent boy?!"

Shippo continued to eat his food, ignoring the last comment.

"Hey, do you ever wondered what happened to mom and that guy?" Shippo asked after a while.

Inuyasha was shocked, to say the least. Here they were talking about his newly non-existent love life, and all of a sudden questions like this? They never even talked about that day years ago. Why would he bring it up now? Did he want to leave and find his real parents? Of course if he wanted to, Inuyasha would have to let him, but it hurt nonetheless to think about it.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked cautiously.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you ever thought about it."

"Well I don't. But if you wanted to talk about it...or go find them..."

"What? No! I'm talking about this stupid love thing. If it was strong enough to make a woman leave her husband and real child, then why can't you just go after that Higurashi chick?"

At that, Inuyasha grumbled and went back to his food. 

So much for that heart-to-heart.

-END FLASHBACK-

Inside the building, Kagome began to type something on her computer, looking extremely frustrated. 

This was it, Shippo knew it, he had to go through with his final plan to end all of this cracked nonsense with his father. 

He had to get the two together.

It had to be done, or else Inuyasha would be miserable for the rest of all their lives. For some reason, it wasn't as easy for Inuyasha to get over Kagome as he thought it was previously, and after only four months, Shippo was willing to get the two together for all their sakes. 

By the look of Kagome inside, he didn't really think that she would mind. Well not too much anyway. 

Shippo himself felt ready for a change. Anything other than how they were all living currently. The miserable son of a miserable bachelor was not very fun. If he'd known then what he knew now, he probably would have let his dad go on his little dates without any interruption.

But that was then and this is now, right? So with that in mid, he sucked in his breath and started sprinting, toward the building's entrance.

Once inside, he jet past all the rent-a-cop guards at the door, and found the hallway that led to where Kagome was. Of course, with his excellent luck, the fatso trooper wannabes were 'on his trail'. (More like ten feet behind him, stopping every two minutes to catch their breaths.)

Shippo ran up to Kagome's desk, out of breath. He put his ands on his knees to get it back, while Kagome stood, confused and called his name.

"What are you doing here, Shippo?" Kagome asked in shock.

This was it.

"Kagome...help my dad...please!" he yelled frantically.

"What? What's happened? What's wrong?"

Shippo looked at her panicked. "He's in big trouble."

Seeing Shippo look so panicked, shook Kagome up. It had to have been bad for Shippo to look so scared.

"C-calm down Shippo...I know that you're upset...b-but you father and I-I mean your father's business is none of mine anymore..."

"Business? He's been drinking and he's going to kill himself!" Shippo yelled, shocking Kagome further.

"What?" Kagome asked, feeling the color leave her face. Inuyasha's life was in danger?

"Here you are, ya little delinquent!" the fatso guard yelled out, finally catching up. "Sorry ma'am, will get this trouble maker outta here right away." he grunted while he and another big man seized Shippo, pulling back toward the hallway.

Shippo fought against the bigger men, yelling "Let me go!"

Kagome was torn. She wasn't sure what to do. It clearly sounded as if Inuyasha and Shippo needed her. But could she do that again? Could she insert herself into their lives? Be the intruder once more?

She wasn't moving. Shippo could only think of one more thing to get her to believe him.

"Let me go, I said! That's my mom!"

Catching the men off guard, Shippo slipped away and ran back to Kagome, who was also shocked to hear him yell that.

"What did you just say, Shippo?" she asked. 

Before he could say anything else, a tall and dark man walked through a door that led to the room they were in. Oh great, it was Kagome's boss.

"What is all of this commotion? Kagome what is th meaning of this?"

"Well, I--"

Shippo snarled at the man. "That's my mom and they won't let me see her!" he shouted out like he was three.

The man's eyebrows raised immediately, and he took his turn to seize Shippo by his shirt and started to pull him to the door.

"Now you see here, I will have none of this monkey business. Higurashi does not have children." the man said snootily. 

Shippo smirked while being dragged away. He should have brought his dad with him after all. It would have been much more amusing to see his old man become that snarling jealous guy again. Kagome's boss obviously had a crush on her. How disgusting. Kagome followed, still looking confused. 

"And how would you know?" he asked.

"Well, Higurashi is my employee. I hired her personally, and she told me that has no children...or husband..." the man said, uncertain.

"Maybe she lied because she didn't want you to know about my dad...you've probably met him before. Inuyasha Taisho?"

"And what would that have to do with anything?"

Shippo lowered his voice so that Kagome would not here him from her place, a few feet behind them.

"I wouldn't tell my boss about my hot steamy love affairs with his business rival..."

"Why you!!" 

The man yanked Shippo up off of his feet by his collar.

That got Kagome's attention.

"Put him down right now!" she yelled, running toward them.

Shippo smirked at the man in a I-told-you-so way, before turning his head to Kagome.

"Help me, please!"

Kagome immediately had her boss release Shippo.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"No. We're still standing in this stupid building, and my dad could be dead about now!" Shippo yelled.

Kagome tried to calm him down, failing because she started to panic herself. "Where is Inuyasha?" she asked.

"Come with me, I'll show you."

Kagome began to follow him when her boss stopped her.

"So this little punk is really you son? I'm really disappointed in you Higurashi."

Kagome snapped at him. "How dare you say that about Shippo! Can't you see he's panicked? He's just a boy, dammit!"

Backing off, the man gave her a choice. "If you walk out, you're fired."

Kagome didn't even think twice about it. She headed for the door, following Shippo out.

"There's always another job." She yelled before storming out.

Shippo laughed inside his mind at the man's look as they left. 

'She didn't even deny me as her son.' he noticed.

Once they got outside, Shippo took off running. "Follow me!" he said behind him.

'I guess there's no going back now.' Kagome thought.

Kagome began to follow him. 

"I just hope we get there on time..." Kagome wished quietly to herself.

* * *

Okay, yay! The story is finally finished being planned out! I just gotta type up the last few chapters! Sadly, we are winding down to the end of this story; there are just 4 chapters left! I'm sort of sad to be finishing it, but not really because I feel very proud to finish another story. After Database Drama, I was worried that I could never come up with another story to top it. But I have, and I'm pleased at it. To be honest, I didn't even like this story idea as much as I liked You're My Princess, Kagome, which still only has 3 chapters because I stopped working on it to deal with this story. Hopefully when I finish this story, many people will shift to that one and love it like I do .

Oh and excuse me for any nasty typos! I didn't really look over it before putting it up.

Well anyway, thank you all a bunch for reading this week and I look forward to writing next week! Have a great weekend. 


	18. Chapter 17

**REI'S CORNER: **Hey all! I'm updating early today because I have some important college business to do all day, but see now? I did not forget!! Thanks to all who reviewed! This story now has more reviews than Database Drama!! CELEBRATION!! I'd like to thank all the readers Anyway, since I started typing this last night at 10:47 PM, I am in a rush to get the story going so that I can get to bed, so on with it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters.

* * *

Chapter 17- Outwitted by a Wit Part II

Kagome gasped loudly as they reached a clearing in the park that was uninhabited by any people. The only person that was there was the figure lying face down on a blanket, with at least fifteen empty beer bottles surrounding him. There was one or two empty half-full bottles of vodka also.

"Oh no! We're too late!" Kagome yelled as she began to run towards Inuyasha's unconscious body. She yelled out to Shippo to go get help. He nodded and ran off quickly.

Kagome decided to kneel down and began to stroke Inuyasha's hair. 'I hope it's not alcohol poisoning...who am I kidding? What else could it be?!'

She gently pressed her fingers to the side of his neck and started pushing him to roll him of to check his breathing.

"Inuyasha?" she called softly.

Before she could even register what was going on, Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and confusion set into them. He sat up very quickly in shock.

No need to say it really, but Kagome was shocked also. She yelped and backed away from him as if he were going to kill her.

"Kagome? What?" Inuyasha started, unsure of what to ask exactly.

"A-are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah...I'm fine..."

Confusion now set into Kagome's eyes, Inuyasha noted, and she began to look all around the area. What was she looking for? Or better yet, what in the world was she doing there?

Inuyasha moved his leg to stretch it out from his nap, and something hard clinked against it. He looked down and saw all of the bottles lying on the ground. What the hell?

"Um...Kagome what's with th--"

He didn't get to finish his question because Kagome had jumped up and ran off in another direction, yelling, "Ooh you just wait Shippo Taisho, I am going to get you!!"

For about five minutes she ran around, looking for Shippo and yelling. She didn't find him, so she returned to Inuyasha's side, an angry scowl on her face.

"Um..." Inuyasha mumbled.

Kagome raised both her fists and beat them against Inuyasha's chest. It didn't hurt, but still he wondered what her problem was.

"What in the world are you doing?!" he asked.

"Damn you! I can't believe you had me quit my job, and run across town to reach you!"

She continued to beat his chest, yelling obscenities at him and at Shippo. Inuyasha tried to back up, but she crept closer to him, yelling and hitting him. Inuyasha was still confused as to what was going on, and why she was even there.

But his thoughts saw that her face was getting extremely red.

And she was crying.

Surprised, Inuyasha grabbed both of her fists in his larger ones, ceasing her physical abuse. Time seemed to stop as he stared into her teary eyes. Confusion and shock met angry. Then Kagome spoke.

"You asshole! You're supposed to be dead! Or at least alcohol poisoned!"

Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed at hearing her. Well that was certainly...romantic. Not exactly what he was hoping for in a reunion between the two of them.

His mind stopped. A reunion? He hadn't ever been expecting a reunion between them. Yet here she was, in his face, flustered, and full of emotion.

She looked like she wanted to kill him. But at the same time, he wanted to thank all the beings from up above for sending her to him. It had been such a long time since they spoke. He thought that he would let her go before, and just go on with his life. He'd done pretty well with that, putting all of his focus on his son. But now that she was here in front of him, he realized how much he'd missed her. Maybe now he could at least tell her what he'd wanted to tell her a while ago.

"Kagome, look, just calm down and explain to me what's going on." Inuyasha told her.

Kagome looked at him, shocked for a moment, but then understanding set in, followed by doubt.

"You...don't know what's going on at all?"

"No."

"At all. Like, nothing, nadda, zilch?"

"It would be nice if you told me." Inuyasha said.

Kagome sighed and pulled her hands out of his grasp. She turned towards the direction from which she came and looked around once more.

Frustrated, she stomped her foot, "Okay, okay I give up! You win this time, alright?! You sneaky little demon!"

Inuyasha was about to ask what she was talking about, but things slowly started to shift into place.

THIS IS A FLASHBACK

"It's such a nice day. Glad I got off of work to just hang out." Inuyasha sighed as he laid on his blanket.

Shippo watched him, intently. "Yeah," he said, "a great day."

An old homeless guy passed by slowly as they sat in silence.

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Then why are you..."

"I said I'm fine, dad. I'm just hungry." Shippo grumbled.

Lazily, Inuyasha chucked his wallet at Shippo. "Go get a hot dog or something. Don't spend more than ten bucks."

Shippo looked around the park briefly, before a grin broke out on his face.

"Alright. You stayin' here?" he asked.

"Yeah...I mean, unless you want me to go with you?"

"No! no. Stay here. Have a nap or something. I'll bring you back a soda."

And with that, Shippo jumped up and ran off. Inuyasha yawned loudly. He'd pulled an all nighter the day before and was beat. He decided to take up Shippo's advice and lay his head down to doze for a minute or two.

Of course, that minute or two turned into a half-hour, and then an hour, and he completely missed when Shippo tip-toed back to the area and began setting down a bunch of empty alcohol bottles.

'Dad says never steal,' Shippo told himself, chuckling, 'but is it still stealing if it's already trash, and a hobo's trash at that?'

END FLASHBACK

Inuyasha looked at the bottles on the ground and let all the things that Kagome said run through his mind. Alcohol poisoning?

One...

Two...

Three...

"SHIPPO! YOU GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Inuyasha suddenly screamed, frightening Kagome. The said boy, who remained behind a row of bushes close by, covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

* * *

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Shippo sure is funny! Sorry it's so short, but I must say that the closer we get to the end, the shorter it will probably get! I hope you liked it anyway! I apologize for any typos, it is now 12:32 AM and I am ready for some shut eye. You're reading this on tomorrow or later, so yeah. HeeHee. Anyways, thanks again for reading and I will try to update next week on time, but you know how it is with school --. Til next time!!


	19. Chapter 18

**REI'S CORNER: **Welcome again my friends! It is such a nice thing to be writing on such a beautiful day, ne? I hope that you are in pleasant vibrations, and if not, I hope that this story is allowing you to cheer up . It is FINALLY summertime, so I am hopefully able to write more to my good friends! ALSO I GRADUATED!! YAY!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the anime/manga titled Inuyasha.

Just a quick note- I know that this chapter is going to be uber short, but once again, please bear in mind that we are working to the closing of the story, and that where I stop writing, I stop there for a REASON. Not because I am lazy, not to annoy you, and certainly not because I have to run out of the house for something. I think writers who do that are rather ridiculous; a story has to be well-planned in order for the correct execution. I would NEVER upload an incomplete chapter. Thank you very much.

Chapter 18- Yes?

Kagome stood rooted in her spot, unsure of what to do next. Inuyasha had obviously caught onto Shippo's antics. She stood there feeling nothing short of embarrassed. How could she let herself get played in such a way?

Then again, look at who she was up against...

Kagome sighed and shook her head. She tapped Inuyasha on his shoulder to make him stop screaming out to Shippo.

"Look, he's obviously not going to come out for a while. Lets just pretend that this never happened, okay? I'm going to go now." Kagome reasoned.

It was then that Inuyasha panicked. Go? No! She couldn't leave yet! He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her seriously yet...

Before Kagome had a chance to walk away fully, Inuyasha shouted at her back for her to wait.

He caught hold of her hand and spun her around.

"Look, I need to talk to you." he said.

Kagome was hesitant about that, but she couldn't stop herself from nodding. She sincerely wanted to hear what he had to say for some reason. Maybe it was for the sake of Shippo, who had gone through the trouble of getting her there. Maybe it was for herself. She wasn't completely sure.

Inuyasha looked like a nervous reck. Of course, he hadn't been able to rehearse any kind of speech for this moment. Hell, he was caught off his guard completely. What could he say to make her understand? To make her stay?

"W-why did you leave without saying goodbye?" he blurted out.

"...What?" Kagome asked.

"You left so fast! I didn't even get in the building before you were gone!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. She didn't know why she stuck around, it was going to be a waste of time.

"It was because you didn't want to go." Inuyasha stated arrogantly.

Of all the nerve! Kagome stomped her foot and turned on her heel to give Inuyasha a piece of her mind. She was not expecting him to be standing so close to her. Startled, she stumbled back, and fell. She expected him to back off then, but he continued to walk closer to her.

"You just couldn't stick around to see if I had anything to say to you, huh?"

"Maybe because every time I do, you say some bull that means absolutely nothing to me!" Kagome yelled.

Inuyasha stopped and yanked her up to her feet, his face was stoic but Kagome wasn't completely sure of what she saw in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly.

Kagome went silent. She stayed silent for several moments and just stood there, contemplating what he'd just apologized for. More so, she wasn't quite sure if she forgave him yet.

Yet?

"Inuyasha it's been so long. You honestly can't still be thinking about that..."

"Of course I am! And I know you are too. Why else would you have come out here to rescue me?"

"I--"

Kagome was suddenly tongue-tied and couldn't think of one thing to say in her defense. What could she do? Lie?

"I--"

No she couldn't lie. Her brain and mouth were far too busy tripping over each other for that!

"Kagome I'm sorry for being so immature before. But you have to fess up to your own devices. We were both self involved in some way...I was to wrapped up in finding the perfect relationship that I forgot to include my own son's feelings. It's horrible and that's something I am trying to make up for now. You were too wrapped up with your jobs and Shippo that you forgot about me..."

Kagome gasped, "I did no--"

"If you didn't, then why wouldn't you ever let us be together? Why couldn't you just feel?"

Kagome sighed, shaking her head again.

"Look, I don't want to fight. I just want us to get on the same page," Inuyasha sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "it's obvious that we're meant to be together."

This shocked Kagome, she stared up at him wide-eyed, "What?"

Inuyasha pointed to the nearby bushes where she saw a pair of sneakers poking out.

"You're the first woman my little demon ever approved of. That's a miracle."

Kagome couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up and shook her gently. Inuyasha joined her in her laugh for a moment before testing her out by taking her in his arms. He waited for her to push him away, but she seemed exhausted, and only sunk against him.

"So can we just start over?" Inuyasha asked finally.

Kagome began to think hard about what she was going to say next. She thought about what she'd gone through with this crazy man and his evil child, all the trouble he'd caused her.

Suddenly, she saw Shippo hazardously peek his head out of the bushes, probably to hear what she was going to say.

'Come on already, ' Shippo thought, 'you know you're gonna say yes anyway. Get it over with already'

Bad move on his part.

Inuyasha was patiently waiting for his answer when suddenly, he couldn't feel Kagome in his arms anymore. What the...He stared at her small form dashing away, and felt his heart sink down slowly. He looked up when he heard something similar to his son yelp out in mock fear.

"Shippo Taisho you wait until I get my hands on you!!" Kagome threatened loudly.

Inuyasha watched as Shippo stumbled out of his bush and ran off in a different direction, just barely missing Kagome in the nick of time. That didn't stop Kagome however, she continued to chase him around the park, shouting at him. They disappeared some ways down, and Inuyasha was unsure if he should go catch up to them.

Inuyasha started walking off in the direction they disappeared into after several moments. He didn't see anyone at first, but heard Kagome's yelling off in the distance.

It was another few minutes before he heard from either. Shippo first, who appeared behind him, out of breath.

Inuyasha curiously turned toward his son to inspect whatever damage Kagome caused.

Shippo's hair was a little tossed, and there were twigs and leaves in it, but aside from that, Inuyasha didn't note any wrong done to his son.

Shippo bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Well?" Inuyasha asked after a while.

Shippo looked up and smirked at his father.

"Kagome says 'okay'".

Okay yay! Things are solved, right! This is the end yes? NO?! Okay maybe 2 more chapters. Okay Okay! Sorry for the shortness once again!


End file.
